Using Smartphones (and other PDAs) in Class: These Days,

it’s Cool!
By Marcus A. Hennessy, CEA (ret)
A few years ago, as
Blackberries, iPhones, and
Androids began to flood the
smartphone market, middle
and high school teachers
tended to discourage their
students from using them in
class. And for good reason:
aside from the annoyance of
random ring tones going off during school, a bored teenager could
easily tune out a lecture and text a friend; or worse, kids could
dial up the internet during exams and, well, cheat. But today, due in
large part to the incredible versatility and internet capabilities of
smartphones, educators are beginning to praise their upsides and
take steps to minimize their downsides.Three case studies on
smartphone use in class
OnlineCollege.org offers a list of ten schools that allow smartphones
in the classroom. Here are three of them:
At Cimarron Elementary School near Houston, TX, smartphones are
actually given to students, but without messaging or calling
capabilities. They’re used to access the internet, schedule homework,
and send e-mails to teachers and fellow students regarding
assignments. The phones allow students to conduct web searches,
scan QR codes linked to relevant websites, graph science projects,
and create Excel spreadsheets. Results are encouraging: students’
overall math and science scores have improved from the previous
year! Teens at Mounds View High School in the Twin Cities area were
given the green light to use their favorite technologies in class,
including PDAs, tablets, and smartphones. Teachers concede a few
drawbacks to the new policy, but they contend the learning
opportunities outweigh the disadvantages. Impressed with the
positive feedback generated by supportive teachers, the Minneapolis
School District recently approved a broader measure to allow tech
devices into more classrooms. Qualcomm is working with Southwest
High School in North Carolina to improve student test scores using
smartphones. Called Project K-Nect, Qualcomm has distributed
smartphones in select courses, and teachers hope the devices will
introduce high-tech applications to students who don’t have access to
the internet at home. So far, the program has encouraged
administrators after they determined their kids performed 25 percent
better than classmates without smartphones on a final algebra exam.
Smartphones: Benefits galore for schoolwork
Smartphones give students a wealth of creative options to enhance the classroom experience,
including:

• Access to the internet for research and referencing

• Access to e-mail

• The ability to snap a picture of the day’s homework assignment scribbled on a whiteboard or
take a short video of a key lecture moment

• Apps like Evernote to store, catalog, and annotate smartphone photos

• Apps like ResponseWare that convert smartphones into classroom “clickers” that can answer
multiplechoice questions

• Recording lectures with Voice Memo and other third-party note-taking apps

• Using QR codes to find relevant websites with a simple click

• Keeping track of schedules and dates

Coping with distracted and disengaged students

Sam Evans-Brown recently posted an excellent blog about smartphones in class on the NPR “All
Tech Considered” page. In it, teachers say that if students are actively engaged in class, they’re
much less apt to search for other things on their phones. Also, if you designate a time when kids can
text at will, they’re disinclined to conduct “pocket texting” or “sweatshirt texting” during lessons.
According to one teacher Evans-Brown interviewed, emphasizing good digital citizenship goes a long
way towards discouraging cyberbullying and the posting of embarrassing content.
Smartphone use by teachers: Twitter and PLNs In a thoroughly researched article for eLearn
magazine, author Clint LaLonde discusses how the use of smartphones in conjunction with Twitter
accounts has greatly enhanced the utility of Personal Learning Networks, or PLNs, for educators.

Smartphone Use in the Classroom: More Advantages

than Risks? Based on results from a phenomenological study
with multiple K-12 teachers, LaLonde provides a broad range
of benefits for using Twitter to connect with peers, which
can then serve as a “very personal and intimate construct” to
“access the collective knowledge of a PLN.” These
benefits include:

• The ability to have spontaneous conversations with PLN members

• Allowing for ambient participation by other interested educators, and learning by observing

• Interested Twitter users outside the PLN can “drop in” on conversations and offer relevant
feedback and advice

•
•
 • Obtaining virtually instant assistance to solve problems, whether in-class or on a more
strategic level and having potential solutions vetted by a trusted group of cohorts

• Subscribing to Twitter hashtags of interest and developing shared objectives

• Using Twitter to amplify ideas to a larger audience, often in conjunction with a blog

If educators teach respectful and appropriate use of technology in the classroom and use it to build
their skills as well, the future of education technology looks bright.

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