Cell Phones as Differentiation Tool for Teachers

Although I was initially skeptical prior to listening to this podcast (Cell phones in the classroom? Are you kidding?!!!), based on hearing the experiences of these teachers, I can definitely see how this might be an effective instructional strategy in working with some students under certain circumstances. One teacher's description of her students calling in with their "Dear Abby" letters as an assignment in their Romeo and Juliet curriculum was especially compelling for me. I could easily envision how this would turn students on by offering a comfortable, familiar method for engaging with the material. For 9th graders tasked with an assignment like this -- a personal letter -- the cell phone strategy would seem like an obvious and well-targeted method of expression to offer students.
So this teacher's use of www.drop.io (a tricky URL, no ".com") worked in this case. I think it's important that, as with any tool, it's seen as a tool for differentiation. Some students would obviously feel uncomfortable using this technology. They may feel anxiety about having their voices heard by the class or they may have expressive language issues that affect their oral language output. However, for students who are confident making oral presentations, or may be experiencing trouble coherently communicating thoughts and concepts in their writing, this might be a fantastic option to build confidence and engage deeply with the concepts.
One thing I would want to make sure to do (and I'd love to use this tool in my class someday) is to model the process from beginning to end at the outset. Start with modeling note-taking and script-writing that employs a graphic organizer so the main concepts are covered in a logical way during the "call". Then actually model making a short oral presentation through the phone and have everyone listen to the results. This way, the comfort level will be raised, the educative elements of the technology and process will be highlighted, and students understand that using this cell phone strategy does not let us off the hook from understanding these concepts. It's simply an alternative means of expression that will connect well with your strengths as a student.

Jamie Hooper