Journal 4

"Audioblogging With Cell Phones" By Liz Kolb
In this article Kolb challenges the cell phone ban in schools and suggests that they may have a positive potential inside the classroom. It's well known that cell phones could be used by students to cheat on tests or text message during class but Kolb points out that they may be beneficial learning tools as well. She describes in this article a step-by-step process that students could follow to create an audioblog with their cell phones. She says they could be useful for collecting and storing data, developing multimedia projects and conducting interviews. Also, with the use of cameras and camcorders, the students could use their phones to create iMovies later. Some examples Kolb offers are interviews of local authors (English), veterans of war (Social Studies) or recording sounds of a trip to the zoo (Science). Also, the phones could be used to refer back to how a mathematical problem was solved in class. There are some concerns with this issue that Kolb addresses:
Privacy Issues - Blogger.com is not a protected site but Kolb suggests blogzy.com as an alternative.
Copyright Issues - Students need to be aware that they need permission to publish certain material like copyrighted music (cyberbee can be helpful here).
Cost Issues - Gabcast has no fees and could be used for up to 200 MB (@60 min.) of recording. Also, multiple channels could be set up for more time.
Control Issues - Boundaries of when cell phone use is permitted need to be set and perhaps social contracts also.
Kolb argues that if we explore the use of cell phones in the classroom teachers would be "able to connect with the technology that students are using daily in their social lives to be used as a meaningful learning tool".

1. Would I allow the use of cell phones in my classroom? I think that Kolb makes some good points and that they should be allowed in certain settings but we should also be aware that not all students own cell phones (I don't!).
2. How can teachers prevent cell phone misuse? If students want to cheat, they will even without their cell phones. As a teacher, I would hope to have a little more faith in my students.