Is texting increasing exponentially as some claim? Is it a distraction in the school setting? What are the psychological effects? What are the implications of texting on learning and teaching? Can teachers stop texting in their classrooms? Read the USA Today article: "Texting Away UR Education." On the one hand, some teachers advocate for students texting instead of raising their hands. Teachers see it as a way for students to respond in class. In the article, I KN the Answer, one Texas teacher enumerates benefits for texting in class as well as for a homework aid for students to keep in touch with teachers.
After reading both articles, weigh in on the issue of where texting belongs in the schools, if at all?
Photo from the article I KN the Answer, published in EduDemic.
11 comments:
I do not think texting in the classroom is a good idea simply because it is distracting to the student. I want my students focused on the teacher and the lesson.
I use texting myself quite frequently to communicate with my own children, without interrupting their privacy.
however I am worried that too much texting would replace the use of proper language
I don't believe texting belongs in the classroom. To be frank, middle and high school students cannot be trusted to ONLY text for educational purposes. It is difficult enough as it is to stop them from texting each other during class!
Although a preschool classroom does not (or hopefully will not) need to worry about texting, I do not agree with it in the classroom. I feel that it is a distraction, and creates a competition for the students attention. I do not understand how some teachers could use texting as a means for answering questions, as the teacher would be reading from her phone the entire class. Overall, to solve the problem I say phones are shut off, as they were when I was in high school, and can be turned back on during breaks/in between classes/lunch/study hall etc.
Well, I was against texting when my teenage daughter got addicted to texting but now I find myself texting frequently and find it fun.
Texting in the classroom can definately hinder a student's education. Maybe teachers should incorporate the cellphone technology in their curriculum so students would engage in the classroom activities. But I will say as a frequent users of texting I find myself using improper writing because of the abbreviations I use when I text. messages.
Smart phones with the ability to text, email,internet access, and everything that a computer can do and then some, opens up so interesting dilemmas for the classroom teacher. The use of a smart phone in your classroom makes you vulnerable to the world and instant exposure to You Tube and the possibility of going viral. It also facilitates high tech cheating on exams, and off task behavior in the classroom by passing notes electronically to those next to you in the world. The biggest problem I see with this technology in the classroom is the myth of multi-tasking. Exemplified by the fact that I just agreed to let my three-year-old have ice cream for breakfast. Are our brains capable of being on task while we are reading or typing?
I have been told that a majority of high school students surveyed would rather give up a kidney than surrender their phone.
As teachers, jamming the signal is both illegal and counter productive. We need to embrace the technology and create an "App for that" to help us, as teachers and learners, take advantage of this power.
I beleive texting teachers could potentially become a slippery-slope. Students have the right to text appropriate school questions, however if a question becomes off topic, texting may soon become innapropriate for the classroom.
I do not feel that texting in the classroom is necessary or appropriate. The whole human interaction factor is destroyed if we text rather than take part in a conversation.
I think that there is an appropriate time and place for all techonologies in the classroom. There have been times when I have asked my students to respond to a poll through text message. There were things to consider before doing this, like providing students with clear directions for the purpose and function of the activity. Also, many students do not have their own cell phones and might feel uncomfortable about this, so I encouraged students to work in partners.
On the other hand, I don't believe that students should text their teachers. Texting is primarily a social pursuit, and this type of communication between student and teacher promotes informality. As echoed in other blog posts, many students now have smartphones with access to email. Teachers should encourage students to keep their communication academic and formal by emailing their teachers. Formal communication is still necessary for the workplace.
I found this article very interesting, because it is such a "hot-topic" these days. I definitely think that texting is engaging for the students and I do think that it offers shy students another path to participating.
On the other hand, how can you monitor if students are only texting related to the lesson, it is nice to say they are so busy they couldn't be doing anything else but how do we know that. I have heard of students at my school with their phones in their sweatshirt pockets texting without even looking!
I also think that texting between teachers and students is just asking for problems. Just last year in West Hartford, a teacher got into a lot of trouble because of inappropriate text messages between him and a student. Unless you are going to have completely separate phones and numbers for using texting in the classroom I think it is a dangerous idea!
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