How Can Cell Phones Improve a Student's Learning Habit?

Cell phones have become a handy tool in fostering viable learning habits in students. It is not only about texting, but involves a lot of other aspects like browsing social media sites, sharing links and videos, searching e-books, etc. Teachers all over the world are using cell phones for individual and group texting and inspiring students to communicate with each other.

Recording Lectures: The "Flipped" Classroom

In "Flipped" classrooms, teacher's lectures are recorded by students using their cell phones. The recorded audio, video lectures can then be listened to or watched by the students outside of their class hours at their convenience.

Answers Delivered Instantly

Whenever a student has a question, he/she has to make a physical visit to the teacher in order to clarify the same. Now, cell phones make it possible to just call up the teacher and get answers instantly. Additionally, instead of reverting to individual student calls, a teacher can upload answers on the class website for everyone to access it freely. In this way, a teacher can encourage 'flipped' teaching as well. It makes the teacher's job much easier, since he doesn't have to visit every group repeating the answer.

Individual Texting

Although a majority of parents don't like the concept of texting, surveys conducted at different points of time have found texting via cell phones contribute towards an increased reading and writing habit amongst students. Research has shown that students become more aware of spelling and use of words when sending texts to friends. Further, texting seems to encourage a constant flow of ideas via text abbreviations. Young writers can capture, compile, and create new ideas from such texts. These can be translated as they edit and revise, resulting in a final draft that is written in the standard language.

Group Texting

Cell phones allow a group of students to connect and share their ideas with each other. It includes asking questions, polls, vocabulary development, etc. Professors can set up one way messages with reply only to sender or open chats. All texts sent and received are documented on the website. This adds a great deal of structure and documentation in communicating with students through reading and writing of text messages.

Ideas for the Classroom: Students Response System

To encourage literary development in students, a teacher can send text messages to the student's cell phone in the evening and read out the response the following day to give grades. Open group chats can also be set up to interact and discuss questions within various learning groups.

During class, a professor can set the students a multiple-choice quiz and request them to send in their answers on his/her cell phone. On receiving all responses, the teacher can immediately display the students' votes on the classroom projector.