Cellphones in the Classroom?

Growing up in Ecuador, I wasn't fortunate enough to have the latest technological gadgets available.   I haven't even heard of them until I decided to move to America. Actually,  I don't remember even seeing one until I got to Orlando.
So when the topic of having them as tools of learning came up, I Immediately felt uninterested.  Cellphones? Not my classroom! What a liability, I thought! I have never been too fond of the idea anyway.  But something changed.  This week's readings pointed out some creative ways of incorporating them into our classroom.  Ways that are simple and easy to do and it guarantees' students engagement. 
In  " 40 Quick Ways To Use Mobile Phones In The Classroom", I was shown how I could potentially use all the tools the phone offers and integrate them into my teaching. Aside from the obvious like texting and the internet , grading was one of the best ways for me to utilize the cellphone.  I can't imagine being paper-free and having a software that can compute my students grades. For my students, there were a variety of ways they can use them in the class.  Some are: blogging, recording podcast, discussing and field research to name a few.  
I believe I am now ready to give cellphones a fair chance.  I can't wait to integrate this device to my learning environment and become part of the 21st Century Technology integrated Classroom. 

To access the article just click on the website - http://emergingtech.tbr.edu/40-quick-ways-use-mobile-phones-classrooms

Erica 

Using Technology to Improve Communications with Parents

I can remember back when I was in school, how my parent/teacher conferences used to be.  My teachers would speak to my parents about my grades and participation in class.  My parents would attentively listen and hold sacred every word they said. Not anymore! Parents and teachers communicate very differently these days. 

After reading an article titled "5 Tech Tools To Boost Teacher-to-Parent Communication" , I realize the different and innovative ways technology can be incorporated into every aspect of teaching.  I have been used to speaking to parents directly or emailing them if I necessary.  However,  this article suggests alternative ways we can use technology to make our parent communication more personable and immediate. 

Some of the suggestions were to use texts as a reminder tool, creating classroom websites to keep parents informed of any event happening in the class and having a blog where teachers, students and parents can have platform for healthy discussions.

I am sure parents enjoy feeling part of their child's classroom life so why not integrate them into the  school routine by using these  alternative tools. As a parent myself, I appreciate when my daughters' teachers go out of their way to make me  feel part of their classroom life!

 

Personal Mind Map to illustrate ideas used from  MindMeister