Engage me or enrage me

Shane mentioned this article during his interview, and today I found it on line. Actually, if you click on it, you'll be taken to the author's website and you'll have to scroll down to find the article, which is entitled "Engage me or Enrage me."

I've resolved to use cell phones and all other technologies in my classroom as much as possible from now on. In fact, after visiting with a member of our Ed Foundation (which gives the school thousands of dollars each year), I'm seriously considering writing a grant for a classroom set (or as close to a full classroom set as I can get) of ipod nanos.

First, cell phones - I just downloaded a program that allows me to take instant polls with my students' cell phones. How immediate and useful can that information be? I'm also going to use them on a daily basis for quizzes or quick texts.

Now, the argument is going to be what about the kids who don't have cell phones. I haven't figured that out - other than I have a hard time believing - going off what I see every single day in school - that the number of kids without cell phones - or at least access to them - is marginal.

On Sunday night, KoKo had a little get together out on our patio. I was busy getting the fire going, and when I looked up, of the dozen kids gathered, at least eight had their cell phones out - probably texting the very same kids who were just a few feet from them.

I know this might enrage some people of my generation (Kristie just got after KoKo for answering her phone in mid conversation with her). But enraged or not, things are not going to change.

This generation is growing up with their cell phones as an extent ion of their bodies - or as part of their consciousness.

And us old farts complaining about it or chastising them for it is never going to do any good.

Did it do any good to us when we were their age and our elders complained or chastised us for our walkmans or TV shows or choice in reading material?

Or did it do any good to our parents who were criticized for rock and roll and the invention of TV?

If you go back far enough - James Burke recalls reading a middle ages account of a bishop who complained, "This printing press is going to make reading the business of people who have no business reading!"

I mean KoKo thinking nothing of answering her phone in mid conversation may seem rude to us, but I recall how a former professor thought I was being rude because I neglected to remove my hat when I entered his office. There was just a generation gap there. I realized that he thought it was rude and I didn't mean to be. Whenever I walked into his room again, I took the cap off. But no one ever made an issue of it again.

I'm sure in a few years no one will make an issue out of picking up a phone at any given moment during the day.

As teachers, we need to get over this and use the technology the kids are using to engage them rather than enrage them.

In addition, to polling and quizzes or short texts, I plan to use texting to allow students to gather knowledge and get feedback immediately.

For instance, I was reading or listening to a teacher discuss how a student didn't have a computer available and asked if he could access the internet via his cell phone for research. The teacher actually showed him a way to get wikipedia adapted for cell phone users. How useful would that be?

Or I could have students text a number of people to see what their opinions on To Kill a Mockingbird are. Talk about a way to get a great discussion going in class. Or we could do the same thing and I could give bonus points for students who get messages back from people in other states or even countries.

Second, iPods. Stealing from MacMost now - a great podcast on iTunes - I'm going to devise a list of my top ten uses for my iPod. All ten will not include listening to music.

If I had a classroom set of iPods, I could upload audio books, podcasts, movies, TV shows and other things that would engage students in key components of background knowledge or vital parts of each day's lesson.

For example, in College Comp, we write a 'how to' essay in which students choose one of two options - how to survive college or how to improve school. For either topic, I have dozens of things on my computer that tie directly into those topics. I could upload them to every iPod and give the students the block to peruse their iPods and select a podcast, TV show, or audiobook that ties into the topic they want to write about. Or I could download a lecture via iTunes U from MIT or Harvard or Yale and have students listen to it to see if they could hack it at that level. We already discuss this idea by using a former Time article called "Who Needs Harvard," but it's a photocopy that is not all that engaging. Having them listen to an actual lecture from Harvard - in whatever discipline they wish thanks to iTunes U - would engage them far more than simply the photocopied article itself.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The last thing I'd use the iPods for would be to listen to music. And remember, this is just with iPod classic or iPod nanos. Imagine if we could have a classroom set of iPod touches, which have internet capabilities. Not only could I program each one with whatever videos or podcasts or audiobooks I have on my MacBook library, but I could also have students keep individual blogs - where they would publish all of their essays for class. Then we could access the internet and spend the block reading each other's writings and giving feedback - all with the iPod touch.

Again, talk about engaging. That is the classroom of the future. No paper. No pens. Wireless and online.

I know some of you old farts are scoffing at this. But I bet there were others who scoffed at typing over hand writing or computers or type writers. And look where we are now.

All this talk gets me so fired up, I wish classes began tomorrow.