The smartphone industry is making a pitch that cell phones belong in the classroom. (You have to register to read the NY Times article, but it is free.)
Students could write experimental questions and hypotheses in 140 characters or less on Twitter and 160 characters or less on their cell phones as txt messages. Steps in their experimental design, photos of their setup would be workable. Data tables might be a challenge though unless there’s software I’m not aware of.
My experiment with phones in Physics and Marine Biology this year will be public soon. I’ll probably have my wrists slapped by admin because having the phones is a blatant violation of school policy. We call them ‘cameras’ and ‘blog posting devices.’ The kids are so involved that I really haven’t seen anyone txting. Nice. They are learning as well. Later today, I will go get my own photos of their work to share.
