Texty McTextersons and the loss of my sanity

As I read Sweeny’s article for today’s class I felt myself remaining a bit skeptical about the place of cell phones in the ELA classroom. When I observed on Friday two of the boys in class were having a texting war. They were sitting in the same classroom and texting insults to each other. It was all in good fun, nothing hostile, but the only way we could make it stop was to take one of their phones away. I can’t even tell you how many times I had to tell one student or another to put their phone away during that class. They’re everywhere. As I’ve mentioned before, my CT allows the students to take out their phones to make reminders for themselves about assignments and she also lets them take pictures of things on the boards so they remember what’s on the PowerPoint or different websites they can use to find their Lexiles etc.  I feel like she is “confronting the beast” and acknowledging that the students have phones at their disposal so she might as well let them make use of them. However, they are such a distraction in the class. Maybe I’m showing my age, or at least my traditional side, but I’m not really a fan of cell phone use in class.

On the other side of the spectrum, last night I went to a church youth group game night with one of my students as a part of my community plunge project. When we arrived we sat around and chatted for a while and then, as things were getting started, a girl walked around with a bucket and we all had to put our phones in it for the remainder of the night. At first I was taken back, but then I realized what a great idea it was! Everyone was actively participating in the games and no one was slinking off and zoning out to check their Facebook or texts. So I found myself wondering, is one of these approaches better than the other when it comes to my classroom?

There will be those days when I curse the creation of the smart phone when I’m teaching. I know that, but I wonder how can I seriously put this new technology to use in my classroom without it feeling hokey, or fluff? Like I mentioned last week, there is a line that can be crossed when using new technologies in the classroom in terms of superficiality and worthwhile technological engagement. Is the practice really helping the students learn something new or is it just to keep their attention so they’ll think I’m a cool teacher? A lot of the suggestions in Sweeney’s article felt a little hokey, to be honest…I feel like having the students text each other comments and suggestions seems unnecessary and will lead to A LOT of disruption in the class.  

I believe there are those days when the students will benefit from having all of their phones (ipods too) picked up and put away until the end of class. They will be more engage in the conversation or the task at hand. So, I feel like I’ve kind of made my choice on not incorporating cell phones into my classroom. That’s not to say I’m not open minded I just haven’t found a way that will not lead to chaos or a superficial lesson where utilizing cell phones isn’t more than for the mere sake of using them. As always, I’m completely open to suggestions!