New Ides in Teaching

Recently, I got into the pattern of regularly reading blogs on Google Reader. I am subscribed to several blogs that deal with technology in the classroom. One surprising idea that I have found in several blogs is the idea that it is OK to use cell phones in the classroom. The blog that spoke the most to me about this topic was The Tempered Radical written by a Wake County 6th grade teacher.

Mr. Ferriter shared his responses to the topic. His blog along with others I read, opened my mind to new possibilities. As Mr. Ferriter says in his blog, most people are completely against the use of cell phones in the classroom, which is why they are banned in most classes. Most people agree that time on a cell phone is spent talking or texting to friends. Mr. Ferriter brought up the point that if students are texting in the back of the class, it is just evidence of poor teaching.

Going along the same idea, I attended a technology seminar this past Thursday. In the seminar, a 4th grade teacher from Wake County explained how afraid most teachers are of being technologically advanced in their classrooms. He explained that my generation and the generations after us are "digital natives." Digital natives have grown up with technology in their lives. Mr. Barton told us that digital natives speak a different language than non-natives. He explained that it is a crime that we take computers away from ditigal natives (which is what happens when cell phones are banned from entering a classroom). He encouraged us to find ways to make our classroom speak to digital natives in their own language.

I know this topic is really scary to some people, and others think it is simply outrageous. However, I think it needs to be brought up and needs to be thought about on a large scale. There is a lot of work that needs to be done before cell phones or other devices like them have a permanent spot in our classrooms, but there are some teachers who are already making it work in theirs. See this blog by one such teacher.