7 #BYOD Building Blocks for Success

As more and more schools make the decision to embrace student-owned devices for learning, it's important that they incorporate strategies for success. Lifting the ban on devices and inviting them into the school is a start, but it is also important to put building blocks for success in place. To follow are the seven building blocks you should put in place to ensure you attain success.

7 #BYOD Building Blocks for Success

1. Start with pioneers - Incorporating cell phones and other student devices into learning works best when teachers are on board. Find out if you have teachers in your building who want to pilot this work in your school.  Let them set the stage and support others when they are ready.  

I want more »

Should cellphones be allowed in school? My Response.

Do personal devices support learning? That's what I was asked by "The Signal" blog which facilitates a conversation about communication, safety and making families work.

The question was prompted after a recent study that found students performed better on exams under a cellphone ban which has been used to cast doubt on city's like New York who have lifted the ban. Of course studies such as these are highly flawed for numerous reasons. For example they assess students as though they live in a disconnected world where the tools we need for success outside of school are considered devices of cheating. Additionally, they look at environments where teachers look at student devices as weapons of mass distraction, rather than those where educators are knowledgeable about using devices as tools of engagement. 

I shared my ideas about how cell phones become learning tools when they are a part of, rather than apart from learning by following a five step plan and incorporating strategic building blocks to success.  Find out how by checking out the article here.

Using Cell Phone Technology to Support Students Who Struggle with Writing

Guest post  by Jacob Gunicki

For a long time software companies have offered a number of applications that allegedly support student-writing skills. These offerings include Inspiration, Don Johnston Software, Clicker, Write on Line, Dragon Software, as well as some web based options. Unfortunately, these applications have had limited success with helping students who struggle with writing. This has happened for several reasons, which are as follows;

• The interface for specialized software often has a clunky non-user friendly look. Subsequently, teachers servicing high need students are reluctant to learn how to use this software. Additionally, the targeted students find the interface non-appealing and are less likely to want to use this software.
• Specialized software is often expensive. This limits the ability for cash strapped schools to invest their limited funds in the software applications noted above.
• Specialized software only targets the needs of a narrow audience. This makes the software impractical unless your needs happen to fit the expressed purpose of the software developer.

I want more »

Interested in Teaching with Mobile Tech? Read This Month's Ed Leadership

In case you missed it, ASCD's Ed Leadership magazine has an entire issue dedicated to "Teaching with Mobile Tech." My Teaching Gen Text co-author and I had the opportunity to contribute.

Here is an excerpt:

Teaching with Cell Phones

Research suggests that students are eager to use their cell phones for learning. Are schools ready to catch up?

Cell phones need not be a distraction in schools. Instead, they can be tools for sustaining engagement, supporting real-world cooperative learning, and empowering learning on the go.

Students already know this. According to a Project Tomorrow survey (2013), 78 percent of middle school students say they use their cell phone to check grades; 69 percent credit it with helping them take class notes; 64 percent enjoy its aid in accessing online textbooks; 56 percent say it helps them write papers and do homework; and 47 percent say it helps them learn about school activities. If students are doing all these things on their own, just think how much more they can accomplish when educators incorporate cell phones into instruction.

I want more »

New Research: Banning Cell Phones Prepares Students for The Past

A recent study from the Center for Economic Performance in London makes a disturbing recommendation to ban students from using their digital devices for learning. The study making the rounds in stories like this one (The Conversation), this one (ABC On Your Side), and this one (NY Mag) disregards what innovative educators know and research shows: Paper assessments are a poor indicator of student achievement. 


The study indicates that after schools banned mobile phones, test scores of high school students increased by 6.4% of a standard deviation, which they say means that it added the equivalent of five days to the school year. It goes on to say the results indicate the ban has a greater impact on special needs students and those eligible for free school meals.

But before schools and districts start pulling devices from the students who need them most, it is important to take a look under the hood.

I want more »

Nearly 60% of Teens Use Their Own Mobile Devices in School for Learning

The ultimate learning experience for students is both highly collaborative and extremely personalized, supported by mobile devices and digital content, reports Project Tomorrow in their latest Speak Up report.
Over the last few years of the Speak Up survey, more students and administrators have signaled the importance of being able to access mobile devices in the classroom, whether through Bring Your Own Device policy consideration and implementation or through school-provided technology. This year, nearly half of teachers (47 percent) said their students have regular access to mobile devices in their classrooms. Among high school students, 58 percent said they now use their own mobile device at school to support learning activities. 

Digital equity and access, particularly outside of school, remains an issue important to administrators. Of note this year, among students using mobile devices provided by their schools, half (51 percent of high school students and 46 percent of middle school students) say that their out of school internet connectivity is through a mobile data plan. Not to be forgotten, there are still students who report no regular access to technology in schools: 13 percent of high school students and 21 percent of middle school students.

I want more »

9 Actions + Policies Necessary To Embrace Cell Phones for #MLearning + #BYOD

While interest is growing in the usage of mobile devices in school, a report on learning with mobile devices and social media tells us administrators still struggle with key concerns. Nearly half of principals identify teachers who are not trained in how to use mobile devices for instruction as the number one barrier. Teachers cite student distraction as their top concern of mobile use in the classroom.

Here are nine actions we must take to make responsible and educationally beneficial use of cellphones and other student devices a reality in the classroom.

I want more »

Get Smart by Texting w/ @Text_Engine

When Teaching Generation Text was published in 2011 there were numerous ways to use text-only enabled phones for learning.  This was great for students and families who didn't have access to smartphones.  Back then there were terrific tools like Google SMS, Cha Cha, Wiffiti, and 4info. One by one as smartphones took the front seat, texting tools like those faded away, until now. 

Text Engine was developed to offer cell phone users a means to search the web using their text messaging service. This is great news for educators and students in low-income and rural communities.  

And that's a good thing, because while smartphones are popular, there is still a great need for text-only services in low-income and rural districts. There is also a need in districts like NYC that empower students to bring their own devices to school, but don't have the means to enable students to connect to the internet.  

I want more »