Reflections on Wallwisher and google docs as online kwl

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/08/wallwisher-google-docs-as-online-kwl.htm has some great ideas for the first day of school activities using wallwisher

Reflections on "How to use Cell Phones as Learning Tools"

http://www.teachhub.com/how-use-cell-phones-learning-tools

I liked the idea of students working in groups to eliminate the need for all students to have a cell phone.  I want to try having students audio or video record an explanation to a problem.  I could have two students work together to do this and alternate who does the explaining or have both do part of the explanation, even though one student has the phone in hand.

BYOT series

http://byotnetwork.com/2012/07/29/intro-to-the-first-week-of-byot/
http://byotnetwork.com/2012/07/30/day-1-of-byot/
http://byotnetwork.com/2012/07/31/day-2-of-byot-2/
http://byotnetwork.com/2012/08/01/day-3-of-byot/
http://byotnetwork.com/2012/08/02/day-4-of-byot/
http://byotnetwork.com/2012/08/03/day-5-of-byot/

Activities to get students and parents prepared

Reflecting on Favorite Things of Mrs. Kirch

After reading http://flippingwithkirch.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-favorite-things-from-6-months-of.html, I had the following response for Mrs. Kirch.

I like the idea of the task board.  What items do you put on that task board to help kids focus?

The "Ask 3, then me" concept is an excellent one. It leads toward developing independent learners.

I think this quote really gets to the crux of independent learning - value for learning something new and making it understandable to themselves.

• Our students these days need so much more than knowledge of the subject.  They have to be taught time management, goal-setting, strong work ethic, value in education, motivation, how to focus, how to ask questions and advocate for themselves...

I think I have talked about Google voice for completing some items. Having the option to do a WSQ via google form or google voice depending on the internet access at home would be great. I have a Google voice account where I was receiving text messages and voice messages of questions for the next day, and it worked out great last year.

Thanks for getting me thinking about the resources that may be available online for the Precalculus with Limits: A Graphing Approach.  I have the sixth edition and it looks like there are some great resources, including videos to go with it.

Teaching Generatoin Text - research on texting in education

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-study-confirms-teaching-generation.html

Implementing Cell Phone Use in Your Classroom?

I posted this question on twitter tonight. It was actually based on what I was thinking about as I was driving home today.

What appropriate training, support and structure have you used to implement cell phone technology in your classroom? #flipclass #edchat

There was actually a great blog about this topic that I found while reading through my twitter feed.  Check out the

The 60-Second Guide To Texting In The Classroom

I think I will be using PollEverywhere and Celly in my classroom this fall to get students interacting in a way that I can keep for a longer term.

Then there was the Is the Cell Phone the New Pencil? which discusses some survey results that "participants valued texting".  That is something that I have seen more and more in both students and their parents.

On July 13, I found this blog from a #pblchat that I think it useful Teaching Students to Schedule Their Time. Given the high school students I work with, I think this teaching them to schedule their time will be an important first step to help them build autonomy in my classroom.  It suggests starting out with a more defined schedule but show them that as each day passes, I will give them more autonomy in choosing the order of their learning. Some of my students really struggle with the power of choice. I need to practice helping them make these choices so they do it well on their own.

On July 13, I found this book in the blog listed above that I think I will get.  Students Taking Charge: Inside the Learner Active, Technology Infused Classroom