Paradigm shift for the old folks....

Can you imagine the shock and dismay if you tried to hoist a 40 pound camera onto your shoulder to shoot a VCR tape while they did the same thing with a cell phone???

YouTube Voiceover USing Gcast and Newton's Laws

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Start the video and start the Gcast at 10 seconds

(This is the work of Neil, Alex, John)

yup, the wonders of communication

Let's move on to the next level...

Gcast and oral comments

Here is a sample gcast post used in an analysis of cartoon physics data, which students collected frame-by-frame:


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Says the DM Register, that's who!

Oddly enough, there was an editorial on the Des Moines Register about the use of cell phones in schools on the same day of the inservice. Check here and here

October 20 TQM PD workshop, Engage them, Don't Enrage them

Today, we talked about a variety of tools you can use in the classroom to engage students with cell phones. Here is a summary, followed by links as appropriate

1. Taking pictures for review or communication. (The picture in this post is an example of a cell phone .jpg) that was sent using MMS to my email account
   
2. Using the voice note feature
3. Using cell phones as calendar scheduling
4. Using cell phones as clickers (see blog posts below, and the link to Jolene's blog here) (if you want the Excel sheet, email me at mapowellATmapowellDOTorg (sorry, the email gets spammed if I link it directly)
   
5. Using Google txt
6. The difference between SMS (simple messenging) and MMS (multimedia messaging)
7. Communicating class summaries using GCAST or simply calling your phone mailbox (see examples here)
8. Collecting data (1 point for every piece of data you get in the next 5 minutes, 2 points if it is out of state, 5 points if it is international) on prices of gas, weather, attitudes on a question.
   
9. Having kids text to your email account
10. The wonders of Jott
11. Using cell phone group lists to communicate to your class
12. Texting if you don't have a phone (here and here)

Give me your comments, or let me know how I can help you make this a part of your classroom!

How does MU affect you? A 3 question Quiz

Include your NAME and text it to me!

1. Which is the stickiest surface? a) Mu= .34 b) Mu = .56 c) Mu = .81

2. Which statement is false? a) I will have the same traction on all surfaces b) the traction of my gym is different than the gym at a different school c) mu depends on the surface of my shoes and my mass

3. When driving on an icy road, I want a a) low mu b) high mu c) no way to tell

Cell Phones as Clickers Pt 2

If I drop an arrow at the same time that I shoot one horizontally, which hits the ground first?

A the arrow that was dropped
B the arrow that was shot
C they both hit the ground at the same time
D impossible to determine

Can Impressionists Be Watercolor Artists?

Is this effect possible using watercolor as a medium?

A YOU BET
B NOT A CHANCE
C MAYBE??

Cell Phones as Clickers Pt 1

Q1 The perspective of this watercolor is

A one-point
B two-point
C impossible to tell





Q2 The perspective of this watercolor is

A one-point
B two-point
C impossible to tell

Calendars and Draft Notes and Visual Reminders

This is an easy one! All your kids can use calendars to count days, and can save a draft notes using text for their assignments (even if they don't have a text service). They can also take pictures of the assignment on the board, and they will have a visual reminder.

Have them set an alarm to remind themselves about the test two days from now. Have them use the stopwatch..(available on some phones).

Even if you don't know how to do these things, they do. And that's the really important part!

SMS (txting) is a must

So, what do my kids do in the classroom? They text. We email. They text. We correct grammar. They text. You get the picture.

I asked my students if they would like to receive homework reminders directly to their phones. More than 75% of each class I teach responded in the affirmative. They signed up in my room, using a first name and a last initial, then left.

After hauling out my cell phone manual and I discovered that I could set up a group mailing list. COOL. I only use the first name feature on my phone, anyway, and so I placed an abbreviation on the last name for each class (Ast for astronomy, 9th for ninth grade science, etc.) This allows me to easily group the kids together.

Now, the tough part...entering in all those numbers without damaging my fingers. I gave the list to my teenage daughter with the nimble fingers. She put the first name and last initial and the class code. I made a group list by using a feature on the Contact button. My phone allows up to 25 contacts in one list so I need to make two group lists for one of my bigger classes. I simply send a text message to the class and I am good to go.

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How well does this work?

I had the opportunity to go to Atlanta with a group of 31 people this summer--4 chaperons and 27 teens. This technique was invaluable and allowed us to keep on schedule with ease, simply by sending a message like: Meet at the front escalator at 8:30 am.

My excitement rating:*****/5

You Knew It Had to Happen

We've all seen those youtube clips. A cell phone rings in the classroom, a teacher grabs it, and smashes it on the ground. End of problem.

What, you haven't seen it? Oh, no. Surely not. Well, click here and you can see the ugly adventure. Notice that I am not posting it. I don't want to start a blog and imagine that nightmare being the only thing teachers remember about a cell phone.

SO, what will this look like? I am trying to figure it out myself, but I just want to give people a starting point for the classroom. If we can turn these machines into tool, we can work with the needs of our students.