While not the latest trend, I find that more of the teachers in one district I serve are using ‘smart’ phones among their educational tools for learning. One teacher in particular, has found some success reaching students in a low income area high school. She uses text polling and other methods for pre- assessment, regular assessment and summative assessment. She started using ‘smart’ phones because almost 85% of her students have phones and knowing that, she created assessments and even projects that could completed through the use of the phone. Some of her colleagues think that by using these tools, the students may not attend class regularly. For this teacher however, she has not seen such a drop off and still (and strongly) believes that whatever means she can find to get and keep students involved, especially in an area that has at least a 33% drop-out rate, is the best tool to use.
Are there others who are using such tools who may have suggestions or advice?
Gladys Phillips-Evans
CSTA Board of Directors