Phoneblogosphere

Everytime I make mention of how technology can be used in school, I never fail to get some variant of the following question:

"But what about the students who don't have computers at home? What can we do for them?"

While I acknowledge that there are probably some students in my classes who don't have their own computers, I can't think of a single one who doesn't have a cellphone. In fact, I would be willing to bet that more than 75% of their communication with everyone they know (and probably some they don't) occurs over a cellphone in one way or another. Whether they're talking or texting, they are definitely doing it through their own cellphone.

And now that they all have access to the internet via their phones, they use them to post blogs as well. My friend who is teaching a summer course assigned his students a project that included the posting of blogs. Remember, this is summer school; most of his students are there because they couldn't remember to do their homework during the schoolyear when it is cold and rainy and there's really nothing else to do. So what are the chances they can remember to do them when it's summer and there are a plethora of other distractions.

No problem! At the beginning of class one day he reminded the students that today they had 3 blog posts that were due. He had checked that morning and no more than a handful of students had posted anything, so he wasn't surprised that his announcement was met with a widening of eyes and the dropping of jaws. However, as soon as the bell rang for lunch (and in some cases before) cellphones appeared out of pockets and purses, and, with fingers flying, students filed outside typing their little fingers off. You can probably guess the rest: when he checked the blog site at the end of the class, all but a few of the students had posted the requisite blogs.

I know this isn't the usual post about how technology should be used in the classroom. But I thought it should be pointed out how students, free from any instruction from us teachers, are using technology in the classroom. Or right outside of it, during lunch.