The technology tools available today should be utilized by teachers. Per Rosen in the book "Rewired" many of these tools are already used as second nature or "24/7" by the i-generation. Education policy has in the past tried to disconnect our students from the world while they are in school, but is that worth the fight? This generation is continually communicating so why not use these tools with this skill to work on group project work and share learning with their classmates. The new phones are starting to access and preform many of the same functions of a laptop except they are easier to carry and many students already have cell phones. Students as young as 7 or 8 are using cell phones geared to their age group so the mobility and versatility of this technology has quickly advanced (Rosen).
The handheld notebook is trying to take the place of a laptop and still perform applications the students can use. The difficulty in using a notebook or a phone to type is determined by the keyboard for me (a baby-boomer) but the avid text messenger can communicate what they want to say in lightening speed and they are continually creating new ways to shorten words or sentences like their own shorthand. This tells me if they desire to perform the task they will learn to do it well. Engagement and desire to learn is our first most important objective as educators. The students that engage in using these tools to gather information, communicate and basically design and create their own cyber world are already using important skills, so why not use and direct these skills in our lessons.
I also can see many uses for blogging. Classes can contribute to discussion outside of class. They can share discovieries they have made on the internet and from pictures they have taken. The learning that takes place - and there can be a lot! - can easily be copied onto disks to save. Future classes can all learn from research and discussions from other students. Students can also learn to use this tool for other classes their in or groups they belong to.
When thinking about using technology in a lesson plan consideration needs to be taken into whether the technology is easily available to every student and that the use is age appropriate. What accommodations that can be made for students who don't have access to the technology outside of class. Can the students check out an i-pad or use a computer lab with internet access during a study period or after school? Some changes in presentation can be made after the technology available is determined but I can see how using these tools can help engagement in learning for all students. Like my kids who didn't have their own cell phones and barely had a computer with internet, they still wanted to use the technology and learned quickly once they got it. They are a communicating bunch and if I remember correctly communication skills has been held as a valuable skill in future success so we shouldn't try to stop the behavior - just use it in a learning direction.
Resources:
Churches, A, Crocket, L., & Jukes, I. (2010). "The Digital Diet: Today's digital tools in small bytes." Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Rosen, L. (2010). "Rewired: Understanding the net generation and how they learn." New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Brooks-Young, S. (2010). "Teaching with the tools kids really use: Learning with web and mobile technologies.: Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
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