Here in Toronto, where I live, public school students must leave their cell phones in their lockers. At Dartmouth High School, “Cell phones must be powered off and must not be visible in classrooms, hallways, and the cafeteria.” At Waterloo Collegiate Institute, “Students are discouraged from bringing cell phones to school and class for a number of reasons. Cell phone use is permitted ONLY in the cafeteria and outside the school.”
But at several public schools in North Carolina, cell phones aren’t just welcome in the classroom, they’re part of the curriculum. A small group of students and teachers are participating in a pilot project called Project K-nect, and the goal is to explore the use of smartphones in teaching and learning math.
The project is funded through a grant from wireless company Qualcomm, where Marie Bjerede is the Vice President of Wireless Education Technology. Recently, Marie blogged about the project, saying:
Overall, proficiency rates increased by 30 percent. In the best case, one class using the devices had 50 percent more kids finishing the year proficient than a class learning the same material from the same teacher during the same school year, but without the cell phones.
Yesterday, Nora interviewed Marie about the project. A shorter version of this interview will air on an upcoming episode of Spark, but you can hear the full, uncut interview below, or download the MP3. [runs 14:34]
Play audio:
We also plan to talk to some of the teachers involved in the project about their experiences using smartphones in the classroom. Do you have a question for them? Leave it in the comments, and we’ll do our best to include them in the show.
And, if you like hearing these extended interviews, why not subscribe to Spark Plus? You’ll get regular weekly episodes, plus additional blog-only content like this. [Subscribe via RSS] or [Subscribe with iTunes]
Interesting how many schools resort to restriction and bans versus looking for the benefits. Teaching proper and responsible use is far more effective than prohibiting and banning – don’t we ever learn! Interesting project.
My husbands school recently implemented laptops for each student – once they have to pay a nominal amount for the equipment all of a sudden they are more responsible in the use of the tool and repair costs and down machines no longer seem to be an issue. Simply responsibility and natural consequences.
Alas, I must disagree. As a teacher at a school with laptop program for grades 7-11, my experience has been that the benefits are insufficient to justify their cost. For the ~500 students that this covers in my school , you are looking at 1/2 million dollars spent on hardware and software. The fact is that there is very little convincing evidence (read; not sponsored or funded by a computer company or vested interest) to show that there is significant improvement in any useful indicators of student learning. In low-income areas, some early studies were quite positive, but that does seem to be the case anymore, probably because computers are now so readily available to even these kids that the novelty has evaporated.
Sorry, laptops and wireless devices just aren't living up to the hype. Follow the latest research on multi-tasking and effective time use and you will probably be surprised at how negative this internet-linked classroom trend can be.
-Chris Olive
Thanks for the reply, Chris. Can you point to any good research you’ve come across?
Loved the interview. I appreciate that you took the time, Nora, to ask Marie some really great questions: to differentiate between the benefits of cell phones vs. similar technology, to explore the potential for more rigorous studies, to identify the motivations of the company sponsoring this project, etc. That's why I listen to Spark.
As a teacher-in-training, I'm excited by the prospects new technologies have for improving classroom experiences. However, like Chris above, I'm sceptical of any attempts to apply technology for technology's sake (whether it's because the companies have a business interest or just because "it's cool" and should therefore be used). It's very easy to get carried away.
Say what you will, but mobile devices are out selling PC’s. They will only grow and increase for the general public. It’s coming and educators need to be ready to embrace or end up in a race. Oh, yes, this is a fact and I have research to support it.
I am not real excellent with English but I line up this very easy to read .