Mixed Feelings.

Like many of my other classmates, I have very mixed feelings about the use of cellphones in the classroom. Although I completely agree with the podcast and my peers when they discuss the opportunities for children to express themselves in a form other than written language, I do not necessarily think that cell phones are the way to go about this. My biggest concern is not so much for students as it is for teachers' attitudes towards the technology and the atmosphere it can create in the classroom. Many teachers already find the thought of using technology in the classroom scary. Even more so, many students already find it tempting to take out their cell phones and text during class. If cell phones are integrated into the classroom, it might set a mindset for students that using cell phones in class is okay despite what they are being used for. Having more children sneaking text messages would just confirm the thoughts that non-technologically inclined teachers already have towards using technology in the classroom. Also if we are simply talking about being able to express yourself vocally instead of writing your thoughts down, tape recorders, digital ones if you insist on posting online, can serve the same purpose. Further more, if one agrees to allow this particular use for cell phones in the classroom, one is assuming that every child has a cell phone. Depending on a family's social-economic status and even parental views on cell-phones, not every student is going to have one. Even if one insists on making every student purchase a digital tape recorder the same way as students are asked to purchase a TI-89 graphing calculator upon entering the world of high school math, this one time expense will be a lot cheaper for parents than a monthly cell phone bill. Like I said, I can see the benefits of using cell phones in a classroom. I even had a college bio professor that encouraged us to email him pictures using cameras or camera phones of things in nature that tied in to what we were learning at the time, using extra credit for pictures that made his lecture slides as incentive. However, I don't think that this particular form of technology is necessary or even appropriate for a classroom.