Cell Phones as Learning Tools
Session One
Throughout the workshop as you experiment with your cell phone and web-based tools, you will share your findings and your creations on our course blog. For Session One, you are asked to share your survey results. If you conducted an online survey, please share the link. If you conducted a survey using paper or show of hands, please include a description of your findings.
You are also expected to provide an analysis and reflection on the data. What surprised you in your survey results? What do the results suggest about potential use of cell phones in the classroom?
Please share your work as a comment to this post.
Each morning, several teaches and I tutor different groups of fourth and fifth grade students. This morning, I was able to survey several of the fourth grade students on their cell phone use. I surveyed 10 students in fourth grade who range in age from 10-11 years old. Six of the students were male and four of the students were female. I asked each student the following questions:
ReplyDelete1. Do you have your own cell phone?
7 said yes, 3 said no
2. Does your cell phone have a camera?
6 said yes, 1 said no
3. Is your phone a smart phone?
4 said yes, 3 said no
4. Can you send text messages with your phone?
5 said yes, 1 said no
5. Does your phone have the internet?
6 said yes, 1 said no
6. How many minutes are saved for calls on your phone?
5 have unlimited, 1 doesn't know, and 1 said 450
7. Do you use your phone in school?
all 7 said no
8. Would you like to use your phone in school?
7 said yes, 1 said no
9. How do you like to communicate on your phone?
5 said text, 2 said call
10. Have you ever used you phone to share on the internet (Instagram, Facebook)?
5 said yes, 2 said no
I was very surprised with my survey results. Of the students I interviewed, 70% had cell phones. The 30% of students who did not own a cell phone stated that they had access to cell phones at home. I was also surprised that four of the seven students with cell phones had smart phones; two even had the newest version of the iPhone.
Most surprisingly, after reading about the benefits of cell phones in the classroom, all seven of the students indicated that they do not use their phones in school and six of those seven stated that they would like to use their phones in school. The majority of the students that I surveyed indicated that they communicate mostly through text. After the readings for this session, I believe it would be beneficial to use cell phones with students of this age in the classroom. The seem very eager to use their cell phones and I believe options such as "Poll Everywhere" would be of interest to this age group.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI am very surprised that 4th and 5th graders have their own cell phones. I am not surprised that they said they would want to use them in school. I think they would be very excited to be asked to get out their cell phones for a lesson.
DeleteIt is surprising at the number of young students with cell phones. My son is almost 7 and has asked for a cell phone. He does have an android tablet. In some classrooms teachers are making use of iPads or android tablets.
DeleteI was also very surprised that nearly half of my Fourth grade class had their own cell phones.
DeleteIt's crazy to think that students so young have cell phones! But it just goes to show that the digital divide is there!
DeleteI conducted this survey with twelve students. When asked if the students had their own cell phone, nine students indicated they had their own cell phone and three indicated they did not. Nine students said their cell phone had a camera that they used. Eight students told me they had an unlimited calling and text messaging plan on their cell phone. One student indicated that they could only sent 200 texts a month and had 400 calling minutes on their phone. Eight students said their phone could access the internet and one said their phone could not access the internet. The student who stated they could not access the internet was the same student who did not have unlimited calling and texting on their phone. All students responded that they were not allowed to use their cell phones at school. If they could use their cell phones at school, three students responded that they would like to use their phone to play games at recess; three students said they would like to talk to their parents while at school and two students said they would like to use the calculator on their phone while at school. One student responded that they would not like to use their phone at school. Seven students said they prefer to communicate through texting on their cell phone and two students said they prefer to call others to communicate. Eight students said they have used their phone to access social networking sites and one student had not.
ReplyDeleteBeing in a lower poverty school, I did not expect the results I received from this survey. Out of twelve students, nine had their own cell phone. I did not think more than half of the students would have their own phone. This surprised me because none of the students surveyed were older than twelve years old and I did not have a cell phone until I was sixteen! As time goes on, the age of having a cell phone is becoming younger and younger. Once I discovered that over half of the students surveyed had their own phone, I was not surprised that almost all of the cell phones had cameras and internet access. When I purchased a new cell phone last summer, I noticed that a camera and internet access were available on almost every cell phone for sale. Those features are now basic features that come on almost every phone. I was curious about the student who stated they did not have unlimited texting and calling on their phone. When asked, she reported that every month they have to put more minutes and texts on her phone. The student also stated that her mom's phone was not like that though. Due to the fact that I am in a very low income area of Boone County, I was surprised at how many students actually had their own cell phones in my classroom. I did not think that I would be able to incorporate a BYOD program in my classroom, but this survey has showed me that the potential use of cell phones in the classroom may actually be relevant.
I had very similar surprises as well, Cera. I work in a low poverty area and 70% of my 4th graders reported having their own phone and 100% said they had access to a cell phone at home. Like you, I did not have a cell phone until I was much older and to have a cell phone with a camera or the Internet was a BIG deal. Now, like you said, most phones are equipped with these tools. I'm guessing that instead of landlines most people have cell phones now. What do you think?
DeleteLike you. this survey has really made me think about BYOT and how it could potentially work especially for my situation (no student computers or access to student computers). Things are definitely different from when I was in high school and they are only going to keep progressing. It's up to us to see the benefit in these changes.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteBeing from a low poverty school as well, I was surprised at my results. Most of the students I surveyed has smart phones with unlimited call/data plans.
DeleteI have low income students that have smartphones, and it surprises me greatly. My school has a large spectrum, from students driving a Mercedes to students that just had the family car re-possessed this year. Yet everyone has a cell phone. I can completely see the potential for the use of cell phones in my classroom, but I fear that my immature freshmen in my Art I courses would ruin it for everyone.
DeleteI was not at all surprised with the results you found, Cera. Most kids I know have a phone by the time they are around 10 or 11. My older son had a "track phone" in 4th or 5th grade (2004-2005) but my younger son, who is turning 14 next week, had a smartphone by the time he was in 5th grade. Guess the old saying is true...."The times, they are changing!"
DeleteI conducted this survey with my music appreciation class which is 25 students grades 9-12. Here are my results:
ReplyDelete•Do you have your own cell phone? 25/25
• Does your cell phone have a camera? 25/25
•Is your cell phone equipped with a camera? 25/25
•Can you send text messages and, if so, how many can you send within your monthly plan? 25/25 unlimited
•How many calling minutes do you have in your cell phone package? all unlimited
•Can your phone access the Internet? 25/25
•Are you allowed to use your cell phone in school? yes 25
•Would you like to use your cell phone for school? If so, how? yes, calculator, look up answers on test, google, texting, games, check sports scores
•How do you prefer to communicate on your cell phone: text or voice? 25/25 text
•Have you ever used your phone to share information (photos, status updates, texts) on a social networking site such as MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter? yes 25/25
Although I know that almost every student in the school has a cell phone I am a little surprised since I teach in a school with over 70% of students on free and reduced lunch. Smart phone data plans are not cheap, I know because I have one. Growing up in a different generation I didn't have a cell phone until I was in college for a few years. I remember the first person I knew to have a cell phone had a bag phone which they kept in their car for emergencies. I can actually remember waiting until I got home from school to use the phone and call someone. Now I find it difficult waiting even a minute to text someone when I think of something I want to say.
Reflecting on the results of this survey and thinking about BYOT -it just makes sense. They are already bringing their own technology. All of my students have internet access on their phone and we could be utilizing it.
I understand where you're coming from when you are surprised that all of your students have cell phones, yet most of your students qualify for free and reduced lunch. My school is in a low poverty area as well, so I was very shocked at my findings. So if students have this type of technology and are bringing it to school regardless of the rules, why not use it as an instructional tool? I believe it can only benefit the students' interest in learning.
DeleteI didn't get a cell phone until I was in college. I couldn't imagine having a device in high school or lower. It would be so distracting! When I catch someone using a phone in my class and I collect it, I make them turn it off so it won't distract me on my desk. The worst is that parents make up a good majority of people trying to contact my students during school. I personally feel that they should know better than to try to distract their kids during their instructional day. I make it a point to not check my phone until my planning period or at the end of the day, because nothing is that important that it needs me to look unprofessional in front of my students.
DeleteThe majority of my students also have cell phones and would be more than willing to bring them in. There would have to be restrictions placed on them so as not to disrupt the educational process. However, what do we do with the students who do not own a cell phone or other device?
DeleteMy school is on 100% free breakfast and lunch, but yet they have better phones than I do? It just all doesn't make sense to me, but somehow everyone has a cell phone!
DeleteI conducted my survey online with a group of twenty 8th grade students using Survey Monkey. The results and analysis can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-PXQHC9G/
ReplyDeleteI don’t have the premium service so some of the responses aren’t shown which is frustrating. I was pleasantly surprised that as a whole everyone had a phone and only three of them didn’t have access to the internet. My main concern with using cell phones in school was using up students data and getting them in trouble with whoever pays their phone bill if they went over their limit. Personally I have a limit on my data usage and it can be really expensive if I venture over my limit! It was great to see that of the students who do have access to internet, almost all of them had unlimited data usage which was encouraging.
It was also really interesting to see their views on potentially using a phone in class. Our school policy is that students can have phones on their person but are not allowed to have them out in class. The student responses were divided into two main thought processes:
A) It would be useful to have them in school in case of an emergency
B) It would be useful to look up information for use in class
I think those that chose option A weren’t quite understanding that with our current policy they would still be aware of emergencies and be able to use their cell phone. Option B responses were really interesting as a lot of them referenced the class they were in at the time for the benefits of cell phone usage. It was during an Art class that I asked the teacher in charge to allow me to complete the survey. A lot of them mentioned they would like to look up ideas and pictures during class to help them creatively.
I agree that having cell phones in Art would be really beneficial to allow kids to look up ideas for artwork. On the other hand, having that option might make students' imaginations lazy, so I'm sure some type of copyright talk might have to occur. I always tell my students, "If you find something online that you like to look at and want to copy it, make sure you change it enough that you can claim it as your own. And above all else, give credit where it's due."
DeleteThe majority of my students also had cell phones and they had unlimited plans. I am like you, I also have a limit on internet use. That really could become a problem unless you were able to give the wifi security code and I'm sure that could cause an even bigger problem.
DeleteHi Richard,
ReplyDeleteThat's great that all of your students have a phone. You have one leg up on the process of using phones in the classroom! Since your students are allowed to have their phones in school, do you find them using them often for non-instructional purposes?
Hi Meighan,
ReplyDeleteOur school policy is that students are allowed cell phone but they are not allowed to have them out during class time. I haven't had too much trouble with students using them during class. I have very strict procedures when it comes to cell phone use in my classroom. With no access to computers in my classroom they are a great resource for information however if I find them visiting non-educational sites (social media) then I confiscate their phone till the end of the day. I haven't had to do it yet which is great. I think that the students really appreciate that I allow them to use their cell phone in certain class periods and as a result are determined not to ruin the privilege. I hope!
Our school policy is that students can bring cell phones to school but they are required to leave them in their lockers. Some however, push their luck with the rules and bring them to class with them. If the staff catches someone using their phone in class, we are to take the phone and turn them into the office. I really like that you have a strict policy when it comes to cell phone use because they can be used as a great resource.
DeleteI conducted this survey with my Fourth grade class this morning. The results are:
ReplyDelete1. Do you own your own cell phone? 9 students have their own phone
2. Does your cell phone have a camera? All 9 phones were equipped with a camera
3. Can you send text messages and if so, how many can you send within your monthly plan? All 9 students have unlimited texting
4. How many calling minutes do you have in your cell phone package? 7 students have unlimited minutes and 2 were not sure
5. Can your phone access the Internet? 8 students have internet access and 1 did not
6. Are you allowed to use your cell phone in school? No, because our school has a policy prohibiting cell phone use.
7. Would you like to use your cell phone for school? If so, how? 1 student had no interest in using cell phones for class, but the other 8 would want to use their phones. They would like to use their phones as a calculator, to play games, and to perform research.
8. How do you prefer to communicate on your cell phone: text or voice? 8 students preferred text, and 1 preferred voice
9. Have you ever used your phone to share information (photos, status updates, texts) on a social networking site such as MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter? 7 of the 9 students use Facebook and 3 of the students use Twitter
I was surprised at the number of students who have their own phone at such an early age.
I did my survey with fourth graders, as well. Like you, almost all of my students had cell phones. I was very surprised!
DeleteWow I am really surprised that any fourth graders have a cell phone. I must be getting really old at 32 years of age. HaHa. However, it does mean that I better be getting ready because they will be advanced in technology when they reach high school.
DeleteI too was very surprised that the majority of the students I surveyed in the 6th grade had cell phones with unlimited packages.
DeleteWow, 4th grade! That is amazing. I can't believe the results. I am sure these results are different according to socio-economics
DeleteI conducted a paper survey with high school students in my afternoon classes. I surveyed 44 students. Of the 44, 39 (89%) have their own cell phone. Of the 39 that have their own cell phone, I gathered the following data:
ReplyDelete1. 77% have service with a major carrier, 23% have a prepaid plan
2. 85% have unlimited minutes, 15% have a limited number of minutes per month
3. 95% have a smartphones, 5% do not
*Of the 95% that have smartphones, 78% have an iPhone, 22% have an android
4. All of the students surveyed mainly text instead of call.
5. 60% mainly use their phone to call/text, 20% mainly use their phone for social media, 20% use their phone for multiple purposes
6. All students surveyed feel cell phones should be allowed in classrooms.
7. 85% feel that cell phone use would not take away from learning in the class room, 13% feel it would, and 2% did not have a response
8. All students surveyed feel cell phones can be used as learning tools in the classroom.
I was not surprised by the number of students with their own cell phone. I was surprise at the number of students with unlimited minute plans. Without meaning to sound judgmental, it seems a lot of students have expensive phones with expensive plans, especially in a low income area. This is something else that surprised me. Even though cell phones are not permitted where I teach, there are possibilities for cell phone use in the classrooms. There are apps I could use in my music classes that would be free to students with smartphones. They could use these in the classroom, as well as at home.
My school also has a ban on cell phones in the classroom. I don't like it because I too feel that my history students could benefit from history apps that would help them learn the content. I could even use the apps as homework readings that would help reach the content I didn't get to cover in class.
DeleteIt's amazing how kids are nervous to even talk about their phones in school. I remember being the same way in high school. I don't think we should make our kids feel this way. We should embrace cell phones as technology and should support their instructional purposes.
ReplyDeleteI conducted my cell phone survey with one of my 5th grade P.E. classes. I surveyed 13 students. Here are the results:
ReplyDelete1. Do you have your own cell phone? 6 students said yes, 7 said no.
2. Do you have access to your parent/guardian cell phone? The 7 that don't have their own cell phone said yes.
3. Does your cell phone have a camera? The 6 that have their own said yes and the 7 that use their parent/guardian said yes.
4. Can you send text messages and if so how many can you send within your monthly plan? All 13 students said they can send text messages and that their plans are unlimited talk and text.
5. How many calling minutes do you have in your cell phone package? All 13 students said they have unlimited talk and text plans.
6. Can your phone access the internet? All 13 said yes.
7. Are you allowed to use your cell phone in school? All 13 answered no.
8. Would you like to use your cell phone in school? If so, how? All 13 said yes they would love to use it. They stated they would like to use the internet to google things, play math games, and go to educational sites like Edmoto. They all said they could use their calculator on phone too.
9. How do you prefer to communicate on your cell phone, text or talk? 12 of the students said text and 1 student said talk.
10. Have you ever used your phone to share info on social networking sites? All 13 said yes and they really liked sharing pictures and going on Facebook.
All 13 students had access to a cell phone. In this day and age I am not surprised by this though. It doesn't matter whether you live in a poverty area or upscale area cell phones are abundant. I was amazed though that almost half of the students I surveyed had their own cell phone and only in the 5th grade. I also asked the students if they had a smartphone or a regular cell phone and they all had smartphones. I asked them if they actually knew the difference between a regular cell phone and a smartphone and 12 of them were able to tell me the difference. Technology is the future and these students understand that and would love to be able to integrate cell phones in with their classroom activities.
A large majority of my students have cell phones (98%) that have appropriate technology (96% have camera) and capabilities (91% have unlimited texting). 93% of my students actually want to use their cell phones in class. I was surprised that only 84% of the students had used social networking – I expected that to be the same as the percentage who had cell phones. Some of the things they suggested were to look things up for class, filling out surveys, and participating in interactive lessons. Since I actually used cell phones to have them fill out the survey, I noticed that many students were engaged in the survey. We also used Socrative in class to review some math vocabulary which they enjoyed and actually asked to complete the activity multiple times. I think there is huge potential in using cell phones and cell phone survey apps to engage students in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to my survey data if you are interested: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AUkM02eRMC7JwoISox7K4MVNkU98N5HRLmJrt4Mmb0g/edit#gid=95270012
DeleteI conducted my survey with my Art III class. This class consisted of 13 seniors (one is special ed inclusion) and 2 juniors. I asked them five questions and these were the responses.
ReplyDelete1. How many of you own cell phones?
All 15 students owned a cell phone.
2. How many of your cell phones are smartphones and have data plans?
14 had smartphones and data plans. My special ed inclusion student had a flip phone with no data plan.
3. What do you currently use your cell phones for at school?
All students said they use their phones at school for communication purposes or posting on social media. 2 people said they used their phones to check their grades in classes and use the calculator when completing work.
4. Would you be willing to use your phones in class on a regular basis if our school needed you to use them in class apps?
All students said yes, but I reminded them that it would be for school purposes, not to communicate freely during class time.
5. How do you think you could use your phones for this Art class?
All students agreed that it would be good to use their phones to look up ideas for class projects. One student said they would use it to email me pictures of their artwork for an online portfolio. Another said they would use their phone to create a Vine video or YouTube video on how to make Art.
I wasn't very surprised that my students had cell phones, but I was surprised that my special ed inclusion student also had a cell phone. My school currently does not allow any student to even charge their phone at school, let alone have it out for use. I see some serious opportunity for my Art students to not only create artwork inspired by technology but share it using technology and possibly see some success selling their artwork online. There are plenty of drawing and illustration apps that my students could use to their benefit. As of right now, the only graphic design courses that students can take are at our technical center off campus.
I decided to use my 7th period 9th grade World History Honors class at Sissonville High School to conduct this survey on Friday, May 16th. There were 26 students that completed the survey. The class is made up mostly of children from middle class families. We have a strict school wide rule of no cell phones in the classrooms. All of the teachers are supposed to have the students place their cell phones in a basket upon entering the room and picking them up when they exit. The only time that students are allowed on their cell phones is during lunch, break time, or in between classes. However, I bend the rule sometimes and explain that it is their responsibility not to access the internet (other than getting online to check their grades on Engrade) or texting other students. The following are results that I found from the survey.
ReplyDelete1. Do you have your own cell phone?
24- yes 2- No
2. Is your cell phone equipped with a camera?
24- yes 0- No
3. Can you send text messages from your phone?
24- yes 0- No
4. How many calling/texting minutes do you have in your cell phone plan?
Unlimited- 18 Wasn't sure- 6
5. Can your cell phone access the internet?
22- yes 2- No
6. Are you allowed to use your cell phone in a classroom?
0- yes 24- No
7. Would you like to use your cell phone in class?
24- yes 0- No
8. How would you like to use your cell phone in class?
20- texting friends 24- check Engrade 13- in case of emergency
6- take pictures of notes to copy (instead of whiteboard)
9. Do you prefer to text or talk to people when using your cell phone?
18- texting 6- talking
10. Have you ever used your cell phone to share information on a social networking site such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc?
22- Yes 2- No
After conducting this survey, I was not very surprised at the results. By collecting the cell phones, I knew that most of my students in the class had their own cell phones. I also knew that most of the students would be hesitant in answering some of the questions due to our classroom ban on cell phones. I am hoping that I can find ways to use the cell phones in class so that the students can use them in a productive way. The new textbooks that we received this year have an online edition and the program is trying to create an app for tablets/iphones/ipads. If this happens, then most of my students would be able to read their textbook with the use of their iphones/cell phones.
It's interesting that our students are hesitant to even talk about cell phones in school. I had the same issue with my students.
DeleteDo you have your own cell phone? If yes, what kind? (iPhone, Galaxy, LG one, etc.) 11 of 13 yes. 7 have iPhones, 3 have Samsung Galaxy and 1 has LG
ReplyDeleteIs your cell phone equipped with a camera? All yes
Can you send text messages and, if so, how many can you send within your monthly plan? All yes, 9 unlimited and 2 do not know plan limits.
How many calling minutes do you have in your cell phone package? If you’re not sure, put idk. 9 unlimited and 2 do not know.
How do you prefer to communicate on your cell phone: text or voice? ALL text
Do you text with your parents? 9 said NO, they do NOT text with parents and 2 said yes, they do.
Do you text friends when they are in the same room (or area) as you? If yes, why? 4 GIRLS said yes, because they could be telling secrets or just do not want others to know what they are talking about.
Can your phone access the Internet? Yes
Can your phone connect over your network at your house or do you have to connect through wifi? 7 said yes, their phones connect over the network and 4 have to connect through wifi while at home.
Have you ever used your phone to share information (photos, status updates, texts) on a social networking site such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, or Twitter? If yes, how much time do you spend on these sites on average per day? All say yes, the average is 2 hours.
Do you play games on your phone? If so, what kind of games? All say yes. Flappy birds and candy crush
Would you like to use your cell phone for school? If so, how? ALL said yes. Calculators, to look up information, record videos, make powerpoints
Because of the lack of cell reception, do you think cell phones could be successfully used in our school? All said No, because we can’t get on the school internet connection.
Do you think students should be able to use cell phones during school events such as sporting events or field trips? YES! (Our principal will not let students take phones on field trips.)
I added some questions because of the cell usage I see with my sons, their friends, and my students. Most teens do not use their phones to make calls. They act as if it is AWFUL to make a call. The only people most "talk" to is their parents. And, they text people they are with. Although, I do the same thing! LOL
DeleteIt's funny how kids think it is AWFUL to actually have to call someone. However, I completely understand. I remember having to call my friend's parents' houses as a child and it usually was an awkward conversation!
Delete
ReplyDeleteI conducted my survey with a group of 12 girls that I coach. They are in between the ages of 12 and 21.
1. Do you have your own cell phone?
12 - Yes
2. Does your cell phone have a camera?
12 - Yes
3. Is your phone a smart phone?
12 - Yes ( 8 Iphone / 2 galaxy S3/ 2 Galaxy S4)
5. Does your phone have the internet?
12 - Yes - Unlimited
6. How many minutes are saved for calls on your phone?
9 - Unlimited / 1- 700 min / 2 Group plan 1,000 min roll over
7. Do you use your phone in school?
12 - YES
8. Would you like to use your phone in school?
12 - YES (To look up information/ Online Books/ Take Notes)
9. How do you like to communicate on your phone?
12 - Text
10. Have you ever used you phone to share on the internet (Instagram, Facebook)?
12 - Yes
After gathering the results of this survey I was not surprised at all with the results. We live in a time where most people are very dependent on technology. Ask yourself this "Do you know 5 family members or friends phone number by heart?" Nowadays no one really knows anyones phone number without having to look it up in their contacts. There are so many advances with technology that very soon everything will be done through technology. Since there are so many options of phones and plans, parents now have the luxury of providing their children with cell phones at a much younger age than before. This upcoming generation of children does not know any better than to depend on a cell phone or some other form of technology. By analyzing these results I can see a high potential for technological devices in the class room. The new generation of cell phone is small version of tablets. So if tablets are accepted as a learning device cell phones should be as well.
I conducted this survey among 8 adults.
ReplyDelete1. Do you have your own cell phone?
8-yes
2. Does your cell phone have a camera?
5 said yes, 3 said no
3. Is your phone a smart phone?
5 said yes, 3 said no
4. Can you send text messages with your phone?
7 said yes, 1 said no
5. Does your phone have the internet?
5 said yes, 3 said no
6. How many minutes are saved for calls on your phone?
5 have unlimited, 3 have a family shared plan
6. How do you like to communicate on your phone?
6 said text, 2 said call
10. Have you ever used you phone to share on the internet (Instagram, Facebook)3
5 said yes, 2 said no
I wasn't surprised by these results The older adults seemed to have the phone with less technology and more "talk". The younger adults had more gadgets on their phone.
I was able to give the survey during ISS late Thursday and early Friday on my ISS google site located at http://sites.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/google-applications-for-iss/specific-behaviors/cell-phone-survey. It was limited to only the five students who had ISS during that time frame. They were all high school students between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. The results are at http://docs.google.com/a/wvde.k12.wv.us/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiHcrcBW2AbodDJ1djJlWnZiUnM5cnJLdEpuWXljUFE&usp=docslist_api#gid=0. Only one claimed to be without a cell phone. The rest used their cell phones for cameras, texting, and on social networking sites. I was not really surprised that the plans were unlimited as for calls and texts. Minute plans are simply a bad economic decision locally.
ReplyDeleteTheir answers about cell phone use at school I found interesting. All that would admit to having a cell phone claimed to use them at school, but not all were welcome to using them as a learning tool. Using the calculator function and the internet were common answers.
The results were encouraging as to the potential to use cell phones as a learning tool in the class room. The students are used to using the iPads granted by the county already. The idea that the tools used on the tablets could be used on the cell phones as well likely has not occurred to most students. Using them merely for a quick google search or as a calculator overlooks the numerous apps that are available for use on cell phones.
I conducted this survey with my honors health class. This class consists of 18 students from grades 10-12.
ReplyDeleteAll 18 students had their own cell phones
All 18 students had a cell phone that could take pictures.
Out of 18 students, only 2 students did not have unlimited text messaging.
10 students had an unlimited calling plan, 5 had around 700 minutes shared, and 3 students had 500 minutes all to themselves.
100% of the students could access the internet from their phone.
The students are not allowed to have their cell phones in class or in hallways. The only time they can have the cell phones is if the teacher allows it or if they have it out on their lunch period.
Yes I would. For class communication or use it as a resource for information.
Every student said text.
All 18 said yes to information sharing.
Do they teachers allow them to have their phones in the lunchroom often or is it used more as a privilege?
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to my survey about cell phone use. I used Survey Monkey. I only had 5 students the day I did the survey.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/dPcYmy5RG1l5nGwUSCRHVbiXpJu1JrCaFs_2FuG2P5P_2FY_3D
In my adult education class, everyone has a cell phone. 80% of them have a camera on it. Only 60% have a smartphone. All 5 are able to send text messages. Just 40% have access to the internet on their phone. 60% of them use their cell phones during class. 60% have unlimited minutes and 40% have less than 250 minutes a month to use.80% use their phone for texting. 60% use their phone for social media networks.
I also noticed my students nervous about talking about their cell phones. One student was quick to tell me, "I have one, but I don't bring it to school!" After they realized they were not going to get in trouble for sharing their information all they wanted to do was talk about their phones!
ReplyDeleteI conducted my survey using my 6th period RLA class ,which consists of 15 girls and 10 boys (one of which is my oldest daughter). The students come from various socio-economic backgrounds which I thought might be an issue due to various prices of carrier plans, but as you will see it did not affect the scoring whatsoever.
ReplyDelete1. Who has a cell phone in this class? 100% of the students had a cell phone
2. Who has uses their cell phones in a class setting other than my class? 80% of the students said they use their phones in other classes, mainly math and social studies
3. How many have unlimited texting on their plans? I had a 100% to this one, everybody said it was cheaper for their parents to have this plan
4. How many would rather text than talk? 88% said they would rather text than talk, every girl stated they liked texting over talking and two boys.
5. What search engines do you use for information? Google was the overwhelming choice with 88%, 8% used Bing and one person said they like to use Ask
6. How many think cell phones should be allowed in all classrooms for educational purposes? 100% stated that cell should be allowed in all classrooms but some did wonder about the fairness to students who did not have cell phones.
7. How many students get on social networking sites? 96% of the students do this every day
8. Do you think SnapChat could be used to cheat on tests? This question really threw some of them for a loop and you could see their minds really working on this one. 20 of them or 80% thought that it could be used for this and the other 5 thought it would take to much effort.
This class is really well versed in phone usage which is the main reason I chose them as my test subjects. Due to a lack of laptops in the school I allow them to use their phones to find information, and I have been pressing the rest of the staff to do the same.
I was surprised that some of my students didn't even have cell phones. Its great to see that you use cell phones as a way to use the technology when it is not available to each student otherwise.
DeleteThat's great that so many of your students are already using their cell phones in other classes, like math and social studies! I could see cell phones being very helpful with math activities.
ReplyDeleteI conducted the survey with my students in 7th, and 8th grades. This consisted of 13 students. The results are as follows?
ReplyDeleteAll students surveyed had a cell phone.
Each cell phone had a camera included in it.
All students were able to send text messages. Their plans were for unlimited texts.
Two students knew their voice plan included unlimited minutes, and the other eleven were unsure.
All students reported they were allowed to use their cell phone in for instructional use during school. Students say they are allowed to use the phone as a calculator or to look up information on Google or another search engine.
All students wished they were able to use their cell phone more often at school.
All but one student indicated they used their cell phone to communicate via text. The other student prefers to make voice calls or "FaceTime" her friends.
All students use their cell phone to use social media.
I was encouraged to see that other teachers were already incorporating cell use in their classroom as instructional tools or resources. The students seemed very excited when talking about using their devices during school, and were most eager to say they wish they could use it more often. This strategy is "ripe for the pickin'" it seems!
Did they specify how they would like to use their cell phones at school?
DeleteI had 11 students take the survey. My students are 6th graders ranging in age from 11-13. I messed up Question #1, so I will start with the results from questions #2. Of my 11 students 3 do not have cell phones so the rest of the questions were not applicable. Of who was left 6 of the students had cameras in their cells, 2 did not. Question #3 was a similar question so we will advance to question #4. Of the students who have cells phones, 1 did not text, 1 was not sure and the other 7 did have texting and their texting was unlimited. Question #5 did not work, user error on my part. Question #6 was interesting to me and I think it is telling of my student’s age. Of the students surveyed only one student knew how many calling minutes that they had in their plan. I would guess they have cell phones for emergency use and/or they really do not use them a lot. For Question #7 of the students with cell phones, 6 had access to the internet and did not. Question #8 was interesting. Of the students answering this question, they all said that they were not allowed to use cell phones in school except for 2 of them. Question #9 asked the students if they preferred to talk or text with their cell phone. 6 students said they would rather talk on the phone, 1 said they preferred to text and 1 said they wanted to do both. Question #10 had mixed results, 4 students surveyed said yes they have shared pictures and/or posted to social media and 4 said no they have not.
ReplyDeleteI surveyed a group of 28 6th grade students ages 11 and 12. There were 20 girls and 8 boys. The results were as follows:
ReplyDelete1) Do you have your own cell phone? 25-yes, 3-no
2) Does your cell phone have a camera? 25-yes, 3-no
3) Is your cell phone equipped with a camera? 25-yes, 3-no
4) Can you send text messages and, if so, how many can you send withing your monthly plan?
23-unlimited, 5-no
5) Can your phone access the internet? 22-yes, 6-no
6) Are you allowed to use your cell phone in school? 28-no
7) Would you to use your cell phone for school? If so, how? 24-yes, 4-no Use for texting, taking pictures of notes and worksheets, looking up information, emergencies, calculator, and music
8) How do you prefer to communicate on your cell phone: text or voice? text-21, voice-3, none-4
9) Have you ever used your phone to share information on social networking sites? 22-yes, 6-no
10) How many calling minutes do you have in your cell phone package? 22-unlimited, 6-don't know
I was very surprised to learn that the majority of 6th graders had cell phones. Most of them also had unlimited texting and calling plans. None of them are allowed to use cell phones in school, and the majority of them use social networking cites. I was not surprised however, for the students to want to use the phones in the classroom for texting. A lot of them also wanted to use them for calculators. I do feel it would be beneficial for students to be able to use the cell phones in the classroom because the kids are not afraid to use them. However, there would have to be restrictions placed on how they can be used so as not to disrupt the learning process.