By Matt DeBlass
Imagine if every student at Raritan Valley Community College had a tiny, powerful personal computer. Imagine having the ability to receive lectures, take quizzes, check grades and register for classes no matter where you were and what time of day it was.
Imagine, if you can, the flexibility that these miraculous devices would bring to students who are already struggling to balance the demands of school with a job and family life. Imagine one of these computers in you pocket or backpack.
Now imagine you forgot to set the thing on “vibrate” and it rings in the middle of class.
As cell phones have become more common and more powerful, educators are looking at ways to incorporate them into the classroom. According to a recent study done as part of RVCC’s Environmental Scan Analysis, the near-universal use of cell phones among students represents a trend that a 21st century college can’t afford to ignore.
In other parts of the world, students are already taking lessons by cell phone on everything from English to cooking. According to the study, cell phones that take pictures and videos are being used to teach film, photography and journalism, and voice-recognition software has helped teachers in the United Kingdom cut down cheating during exams.
Today’s higher end “smartphones” have as much, or more, processing power as a mid-’90s desktop PC, use far less power and come at a fraction of the weight and cost. While students’ thumbs may twinge at the thought of typing a five-page English paper on a mobile phone, foldable keyboards and miniature mouses are already available for PDA-type devices. It’s a small leap of technology to make word processing practical for an advanced cell phone.
Cell phone technology has its limitations, but it has the potential to become a powerful tool for modern educators. And it’s very likely that teachers who, today, are often frustrated by the beeping, blinking and vibrating distractions in their classrooms will relish the day when they begin a lesson by saying, “All right class, pop quiz. I need everyone to turn on their cell phone.”
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