Cell phones in class

Welcome back from Spring Break! It is always nice to get away and have a chance to recharge--And in this case, the push to PSAE and the end of the school year!

First, an update on "the great Facebook experiment". Thanks in large part to Stephanie Stashak, we posted each day during the break with bits of information, and specifically, preps for our LUNCHTIME TRIVIA CHALLENGE. We are up to 30 FANS- not great, but 30 more than we had 3 weeks ago-- Our experiment will be featured in our newsletter this month, which may get us some notice as well. We are also going to try some special offers for "fans only". I will keep you posted.


Now to this week's post. Once again, another controversy--Cell phones in the classroom- Horrors!! We have made an effort to find ways to use the technology that the kids have in a positive way--I think that I have found a pretty good one. The site is TEXTMARKS. As their site says: "TextMarks web site lets users quickly register a keyword (for free) on the 41411 shortcode that enables them to collect subscribers and broadcast alerts, chat in groups, coordinate events, provide info, and more. "

TRANSLATION--You have a group of student on a field trip-let's say the zoo or a museum-They have a series of questions that they need to answer on a worksheet that you have created--Imagine them being able to respond to a question via text, and receive back in seconds, an additional clue, or the next question. Talk about being engaged in learning!!

For those of you in the PSHS community-some on down to the Media Center, bring your cell phone- I have a sample "scavenger hunt" set up.