Literacy Now

by Dr. Richard E. Ferdig

The creation and adoption of innovative technologies often provides opportunities to rethink current education practices. For instance, the development of low-cost laptops and their portability helped schools rethink 1:1 technology initiatives (one computer per child). The high adoption of gaming devices at all age and socioeconomic levels gave rise to new thinking about the gamification of learning environments. And the engaging nature of virtual environments have helped teachers reconsider the concept of the field trip.

A new report from the State Educational Technology Directors Association follows suit and asks readers to reexamine and reconsider textbooks and the delivery of content to students. In "Out of Print: Reimagining the K-12 Textbook in a Digital Age", the authors even suggest not calling this new media e-texts or e-books, as they suggest such terminology perpetuates "the old notion of a single textbook per subject as being the optimal source of instructional material" (p. 6).

The authors make a strong argument that there are a variety of important reasons for schools to shift away from traditional textbooks. "It is not a matter of if reimagining the textbook will permeate all of education, only a matter of how fast" (p. 6). The authors note the challenge is that most schools are ignoring digital texts. "The educational environment isn't exploiting digital content for all of the benefits that can accrue for today’s learners. The gap is widening for what we do in our lives—how we communicate, work, learn, and play—and how we’re educating our kids" (p. 5).

According to the authors, the benefits of using digital content (the re-envisioning of the current textbook) are many. Content can be updated immediately; students are no longer required to engage old content just because schools can't afford new print books. Students can also access their texts anywhere they can take their electronic device. And, teachers can push personalized learning immediately to their device. Finally, given the widespread development and availability of open education resources (OER), content can be much richer and more engaging.

The report includes examples from multiple states where e-content is currently replacing traditional textbooks in all content areas. For instance, "the work of CK-12 focuses on middle school and high school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) subjects; but Utah will be using the platform for support in K-6 and language arts as well" (p. 19). The report also highlights requirements to make this a smooth transition, including recommendations at the policy and practical level.

What impact does this shift have on and for literacy educators? There are at least five considerations.

1. Perhaps the most obvious implication is that literacy educators need to reexamine their current textbooks. What does an anthology of literature look like in a 21st century digital format? How could one draw on the affordances of such tools to move beyond just print stories? How do vocabulary textbooks draw on the promise of personalized learning through just-in-time delivery of differentiated practice and feedback?
2. Successful programs prepared teachers for these transitions. How are we preparing our literacy educators to live in a world where delivery and consumption of content will be electronic?
3. There has been strong argumentation for the connection between literacy, digital literacy, and 21st century literacies. There has also been important research into how students are learning to read and write online. Removing print text will force a deeper understanding of how to best support our readers and writers. As such, there is an immediate need for more funded research in this critical area.
4. A related, critical area of study is multimodal composition. This is the notion that students are not just reading and writing print text in a digital format. Reading and writing is being expanded to include multiple media such as movies, blogs, animations, voice, etc. We need to make sure that the push to digital content does not fall back to print only. And, perhaps more importantly, we have to ensure that teachers and students are not just consumers of such content, but also producers.
5. How can e-content support struggling readers and writers? At the surface level, there is strong argumentation that such text could support such readers and writers more than traditional methods because of the affordances of the tools involved (the report has a timely discussion of CAST's work on UDL). However, just because it can support them does not mean it will do so automatically.

Some are recommending that e-content, e-books, or e-texts completely replace print textbooks within 5 years (p. 3). As literacy educators, we need to not just prepare, but also capitalize on this opportunity to re-think literacy instruction in the 21st century.

Dr. Richard E. Ferdig is a professor of ITEC and the Summit Professor of Educational Technologies at the Research Center for Educational Technology, Kent State University, rferdig@gmail.com.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

 

by Nicole Timbrell and Jenny Power

Every class consists of enthusiastic and reluctant recreational readers. Online book clubs provide a new way for teachers to use the enthusiasm of engaged readers to influence those who are indifferent towards reading. We (Nicole Timbrell and Jenny Power), two Sydney-based secondary school teachers, combined our professional strengths, as English classroom teacher and teacher librarian respectively, and set out to enhance our students' engagement with recreational reading by adopting online book clubs. We supplemented traditional reading promotion strategies with online book clubs hosted by Good Reads and Inside A Dog, to develop greater interest in recreational reading. By structuring our classes around these online tools, we extended the scope of our role as enabling adults  to provide a stimulating reading environment that reached beyond the walls of the classroom.

Both Good Reads and Inside A Dog provide extensive databases of fiction and non-fiction which allow users to access book covers, blurbs, reviews and ratings for each book. Users create a profile and add books to their "online shelves" as a record of their past, current and future reading patterns. Teachers are then able to construct groups within these websites and invite their students to become part of the class book club. By adopting the model of social networking sites, both Good Reads and Inside a Dog allow users to become online "friends" in order to view one another’s profiles and share reviews and recommendations. The promotion of shared reading experiences among peers, and the ability of students to gain reading ideas and motivation from the more enthusiastic and capable readers within the class were found to be the most appealing features of these websites.

We managed our online book clubs by asking students to:

• Construct profiles to display current, past and future reading choices
• Reply to discussion points posted on the online book club home page
• Set personal reading goals to extend their repertoire and display these on their profile
• Write book reviews 
• Read other students’ book reviews to make and receive recommendations
• Use the search functions of the website to seek recommendations for future reading

Benefits for students participating in these online reading communities include:

• Increased enthusiasm and inspiration to read books their peers had enjoyed
• An ability to better locate and select books for their interest and ability
• Improved knowledge of the etiquette of online communication

Benefits for teachers include the ability to:

• Monitor all students’ reading progress and keep a record for use during discussions with students and parents
• Personalise recommendations and provide individual suggestions for future reading
• Construct closed online reading communities which enable younger students to communicate in a moderated environment
• Set authentic writing tasks due to the publication of reviews and discussion posts to a real audience in a "live" online space

Nicole Timbrell is an English teacher (Grades 7-12) at Loreto Kirribilli, in Sydney Australia.

Jenny Power is a teacher librarian at Loreto Kirribilli, in Sydney Australia. 

Nicole and Jenny share an interest in adolescent literacy, online reading comprehension and new literacies and work together to incorporate ideas from these areas into the English classroom.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

 

by Judith Hayn

Lange, Erin Jade. Butter. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2012.

Butter weighs 423 pounds, and his nickname originates from a particularly repulsive act of bullying his freshman year. He narrates this cautionary tale of the first semester his junior year in a Scottsdale, Arizona, high school. He wants desperately to fit in and to have the girl of his dreams even notice him. The first goal appears to be possible when he sets up a website vowing to eat himself to death online on New Year’s Eve. The scheme to get the girl involves the assumption of another identity as he connects, again online, with his lovely classmate Anna; only she has no picture of him and accepts his fake persona of a rich, athletic student at a private local prep school. The popular kids latch onto the eating to death scheme as a way to amuse themselves at Butter’s expense as he becomes a large pet for the “in” crowd. The whole scenario is doomed from the start while Butter is in denial about the impending catastrophe.

While the reader roots for him to wake up to what is happening and take action, the feelings of self-hatred are too enmeshed in Butter; not even his amazing talent on the saxophone can save him. The discussion of options for obese teens offers avenues of hope, but Butter cannot seem to accept these; even the concerned advice from his therapist and music teacher, along with his mother’s misguided manipulation with food, meet resistance. Donna Cooner’s 2012 book Skinny deals with the same theme although her protagonist is a girl who chooses gastric by-pass surgery. Both are powerful texts and uncomfortable reads for those who struggle with weight and those who don’t but need to understand—many teen reviews of these books on the Internet reveal a disturbing bias about overweight people.

Dr. Judith A. Hayn is an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

This article is part of a series from the Special Interest Group Network on Adolescent Literature (SIGNAL).

When the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, announces the recipient of the 2013 Caldecott Medal later this month, it will mark the award’s seventy-fifth anniversary.

Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the prestigious medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Many libraries and classrooms make sure they have these award-winning books on their shelves. In honor of the anniversary and to celebrate some of the best picture books published in the past, members of the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group have chosen to highlight some of their favorites. This week’s reviews cover the early decades of the award, beginning in 1938 and ending in 1970. Next week’s reviews will focus on the more recently honored titles. ReadWriteThink offers a wide variety of lesson plans to accompany a study of the Caldecott winners.

1938 Medal Winner:

Lathrop, Dorothy. (1937). Animals of the Bible: A picture book. Illus. by Dorothy P. Lathrop; text selected by Helen Dean Fish. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Animals of the Bible, for which its illustrator won the first Caldecott Medal Winner, is actually a collection of Bible stories about animals from both the Old and New Testaments. The original book contains black and white illustrations depicting the earth’s flora and fauna through beautifully detailed drawings. The text that accompanies each picture is from the King James Version of the Bible. There are 27 illustrations including the Creation with Eve’s serpent, some of the animals from Noah’s Ark, Abraham’s ram, the lions from Daniel in the Lions’ Den, the great fish of Jonah, the beast and the Good Samaritan, the pigs of the Prodigal son, Balaam’s ass and many more. In the Foreword, Helen Dean Fish comments:  “… animals so frequently play a part in the most dramatic and beautiful happenings [in the Book] and are often referred to with appreciation and gentleness… creatures to command both awe and admiration.” In 1998, HarperCollins released a special deluxe 60th anniversary edition.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

1942 Medal Winner: 

McCloskey, Robert. (1941). Make way for ducklings. New York: Viking.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for a safe place to make their nest to raise a family. Unlike Mr. Mallard who thinks the Boston Garden is the best place to do so, Mrs. Mallard fears the swan boats there, prompting them to compromise on a spot near the River Charles. Mrs. Mallard says she will meet Mr. Mallard at the Public Garden when the ducklings are trained and ready to travel. When that time comes, the dutiful ducklings line up behind their mother and begin the trek to the park. Mrs. Mallard tries to get her eight little ducklings safely across the busy streets of Boston for their reunion with their father. However, it requires the help of a friendly Boston policeman to get the job done, and the ducklings, spearheaded by their mother, eventually cross the busy streets of Boston to join Mr. Mallard. This lively tale makes for a timeless read aloud for young learners. Deservedly, it is a classic in every way and one that still holds high appeal for today’s young readers. “Follow the journey of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they find a safe home to raise their family” on Google Lit Trips using Google Earth to plot the journey by using Google Lit Trips. Born in Ohio, author Robert McCloskey is one of the authors featured in the Choose to Read Ohio where a complete Robert McCloskey toolkit is available. Enjoy the Weston Woods video production of this book, and use the teacher’s guide to accompany the video. Additionally, visitors to Boston can enjoy a stroll in the Boston Public Gardens and view the bronze sculpture dedicated to McCloskey and his memorable ducklings.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

1948 Medal Winner:

Tresselt, Alvin. (1947). White snow, bright snow. Illus. by Roger Duvoisin. New York, New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.

This award-winning book opens with a popular poem, “Softly, Gently in the Secret Night.” Snow forms the central theme of this book and starts with the preparation for the first snow. Around the village, the farmer, the postman, the policeman, and his wife prepare for the first snowflakes. When it arrives, the children are delighted and the animals scurry into safer places. Through winter, people fall sick, landmarks become buried, ice ferns form on the window panes, children make snowman, snow house, a snow fort, and then have a snow ball fight. But each day, the sun grows stronger, and the water gurgles until there is no more snow on the ground. People look forward to a glimpse of snowdrops and crocuses to announce spring. The colorful illustrations earned the illustrator the Caldecott Medal in 1948. Teachers can learn more about the illustrator at http://eclipse.rutgers.edu/goose/zam/duvbio.aspx. 

- Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

1957 Medal Winner:

Udry, Janice May. (1956). A tree is nice. Illus. by Marc Simont. New York: Harper & Row.

Trees offer so many gifts to the world around them. Their leafy branches fill up the sky, creating wood-filled panoramas with whispering leaves fluttering in the breeze. Trees are nice because children can climb up and down in them, hang swings in them, and use their sticks to draw in sand. They provide shade and shelter for people and other animals. Trees are everywhere; there are trees in the park, in the yard, in the field, in the forest, on the hills, by the rivers, and near the farms. Although this title is perfect for anyone who loves trees, enjoys shade, and lives in big cities and misses trees, it is also a book for those who appreciate the beauty of nature and have happy memories playing with and around trees. The green-filled illustrations of trees, children, and animals in the book are vivid; tree-lovers are likely to identify the different kinds of trees that are portrayed in the book’s pages: pines, oaks, willows, apple trees, and even bare trees. Reading this book is like walking in the sunshine with light breeze. The book evokes a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere that readers and nature-lovers will savor. Clearly, trees are so much more than being simply nice.

- Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

1959 Medal Winner:

Chaucer, Geoffrey. (1958). Chanticleer and the fox. Retold and illus. by Barbara Cooney. New York: HarperCollins.

Readers will delight in turning to this Caldecott Medal-winning book over and over because of its animal characters, its ornate artwork and the book's important messages about being wary of flatterers and taking care not to become too proud. The story revolves around the proud Chanticleer, who delights in his plentiful feathers and distinctive voice. When a fox spies him by himself, he knows he can’t catch Chanticleer without some trickery. He compliments him and then plays to Chanticleer’s desire to be known as for his crowing. As he throws back his head and crows, the fox seizes him while he’s on his tiptoes. All the other barnyard animals and humans try to rescue him, but it is Chanticleer who manages to turn the tables on the fox. When the fox opens his mouth in order to get rid of the others, Chanticleer falls from his grasp and flies to an overhead branch. By opening his mouth when he shouldn't, the fox loses his succulent meal. Both rooster and fox learn valuable lessons and aren’t likely to be fooled again. It’s impossible not to love the black and white colors and the touches of red, green, and gold that are found throughout the book’s pages. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

1961 Medal Winner:

Robbins, Ruth. (1960). Baboushka and the three kings. Illus. by Nicolas Sidjakov. Nashville: Parnassus.

In search of the newborn Christ child, three kings in a sleigh ask the elderly Baboushka to help them. Since it is cold and she is tired, she is reluctant to accompany them and asks that they wait until the next morning. Unable to wait, they press on, and she figures she can follow their tracks the next morning if she decides to do so. Her conscience bothers Baboushka during the night, prompting her to collect a few small presents and look for the baby the next day. But the travelers' tracks have been covered by the snow, and no one has seen the baby for whom she is searching. From then on, she continues her search for the Christ child. The artwork is quite interesting, filled with stylized figures and bright colors with dark tones that contrast with some of the white and black shapes. The images are reminiscent of stained glass windows in some respects and become more attractive with repeated readings.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

1962 Medal Winner:

Brown, Marcia. (1961). Once a mouse...: A fable cut in wood. New York: Scribner.

Can a mouse become a tiger? Impossible! Well, read Once A Mouse before jumping to conclusions about the possibilities of shape-shifting. Protected by an old hermit with mighty magic, a mouse is changed into a stout cat, a big dog, and finally a handsome, royal tiger in order to stay safe from other, larger creatures. Proud of being a strong tiger, he walks around the forest with a cocky air. The old hermit cannot bear seeing the tiger showing off and scolds the beast, reminding him of what he once was. Feeling disgraced, the ungrateful tiger threatens him. The hermit understands the tiger’s intention and turns the grand, arrogant tiger back into a timid little mouse. Retold from an India fable in Hitopadesa, Once a Mouse has a simple plot but contains multiple-layered meanings, making it a story that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. The multicolored woodcut illustrations provide an engaging artistic reading experience for readers as each page is turned. 

- Ying-Hsuan Lee, Washington State University Pullman

1963 Medal Winner:

Keats, Ezra Jack. (1962). The snowy day. New York: Viking.

Ezra Jack Keats broke new ground with The Snowy Day when he created the first American picture book with a positive depiction of an African American child as the main character. In addition to winning the Caldecott Medal for this book, he is credited by some for beginning the real impetus for multicultural children’s literature. This book marks a turning point in the world of children’s literature. The story of a young child going out to play in his bright red snowsuit and how he enjoys the new snow is heart warming. He finds it great fun to make tracks in the snow and whack a stick against the snow-laden branches of a tree great snow. Making a snowman and sliding down piles of snow add to his merriment. Trying to hold onto some of the day’s pleasures, he stuffs a snowball into his pocket for tomorrow. After going inside to get warm and head off to bed, he gets up the next morning to find that yesterday’s snowball has melted, but outside, another glorious snow day awaits. The 50th anniversary deluxe edition of the book published in 2012 includes many extra pages of information about the author. Teachers can listen to the entire story read by LaVar Burton and a recent interview at NPR dealing with breaking the color barrier at the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation offers a plethora of resources to educators including the beautifully animated rendition of The Snowy Day. ReadWriteThink offers a “Creative Problem-Solving with Ezra Jack Keats." Read more about the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation in this article.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

1964 Medal Winner:

Sendak, Maurice. (1963). Where the wild things are. New York: Harper.

As do all of us at one time or another, Max gets carried away with his antics, and his annoyed mother sends him to his room as punishment. But he continues with his wild play, and his room becomes the place where the wild things are, and his imagination runs wild. Naturally, Max becomes the leader of the wild things. The author/illustrator captures perfectly what it’s like to be boisterous, imaginative, and with plenty of excess energy. While the wild things look somewhat frightening with their over-sized heads and facial features, they are also funny in some respects. Most appealing of all for young readers is the fact that these scary creatures can all be tamed by Max. Even the mighty, out-of-control Max runs out of energy too and is ready for a peaceful end to the day. This title is another one of those perfect read aloud titles that children clamor to hear again and again.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

1966 Medal Winner:

Leodhas, Sorche Nic. (1965). Always room for one more. Illus. by Nonny Hogrogian. New York: Holt.

Sorche Nic Leodhas (pseudonym for LeClaire Gowans Alger) borrowed from an old Scottish nursery tale and penned a humorous tale where the kindness shown to strangers backfires a wee bit. Written in authentic Scottish brogue, the story begins when a storm erupts on a cold and windy night in the hills of Scotland, and kind- hearted Lachie MacLachlan calls out to all who pass by on the story night, “… There’s room for one more, always room for one more” (p. 3) although he and his wife and ten “bairns” have the house quite full as it is. As the night ensues there are many who accept the invitation, including a tailor, a sailor, a tinker, a lass, an “auld” wife, a bagpiper, four peat cutters and a few others. But now the house is exploding with people as it fills up to the dancing and merriment of the guests until … it collapses around them! Not to worry, the guests all band together and build Lachie a new house, a bigger house, where there is indeed room for one and all. Teachers can read more about two-time Caldecott winner, Nonny Hogrogian, in this School Library Journal article or at her website. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

1967 Medal Winner:

Ness, Evaline. (1966). Sam, Bangs, and moonshine. New York: Holt.

The daughter of a fisherman, Sam is prone to telling tales that don’t just stretch the truth a little bit. She tells whoppers of tales that are bigger than any fish a fisherman ever claimed got away. She insists that she has a baby kangaroo and that her mother is a mermaid. But her lying is a way of avoiding the truth about her mother who died when she was younger. Her father insists that she learn to distinguish between fact and fantasy—or what he calls moonshine. But Sam keeps telling her made-up stories. Still, the yarns Sam spins almost result in a tragedy when she thoughtlessly sends a neighbor boy in search of her kangaroo and mermaid as the tide is coming in and a storm is on its way. Her cat, Bangs, heads out to find the boy while Sam remains at home. Only luck and her father’s quick response save the day. As a result, Sam realizes she must stop blurring the lines between what is real and what is not. The illustrations are memorable, filled with gold colors peeking out amid soft swirling greens and grays on the book’s pages. Although the title has more text than some readers might like, it also describes a coping skill to which many children resort when they don't want to face reality—lying or weaving their own version of the life they wish they had.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

1968 Medal Winner:

Emberley, Barbara. (1967). Drummer Hoff. Illus. by Ed Emberley. New York: Prentice-Hall.

Filled with ample white space and richly-colored woodcut illustrations, this cumulative tale describes several members of a military unit responsible for bringing all the various parts to make a cannon fire. The men are dressed in ornate uniforms and some, such as Sergeant Chowder, struggle with the things they carry. As something is added to the store of military materials, stoic Drummer Hoff quietly stands by and bides his time. The explosive red, orange, and yellow double-page spread near the book's conclusion makes it clear what the result of all that toting of materials and preparation is. The final page filled with birds building a nest and a spider building a web concludes the book with a thoughtful visual reflection about how Nature always reclaims her own despite the ills done to her by humans. This title is great fun to read aloud because of the soldiers’ names and the rhymes and the repetitive nature of the text. Plus, it’s simply delightful to consider the illustrations.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

1970 Medal Winner:

Steig, William. (1969). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Windmill Books.

William Steig, author of Shrek and many other wonderful stories, won the Caldecott Medal for his story of a young donkey and a magic pebble. Sylvester is out walking one drizzly day when he picks up a pebble. While examining it, he wishes it would stop raining and magically, it does stop! Thinking he has discovered a magic pebble, Sylvester hurries home to tell his parents when a lion emerges from the bushes. Frightened, Sylvester wishes he was a rock and could hide from the lion, and he instantly becomes a rock. As time goes by, his parents, friends and police search and search for Sylvester but with no luck. Time passes, and a year later his family goes on a picnic, selecting as their picnic spot the very rock where Sylvester is trapped. His father notices an interesting pebble on the ground, the same magic pebble Sylvester had found. Just as Sylvester wishes he were himself again, his father places the pebble on the rock. In that instant, Sylvester is reunited with his family and the picnic is an occasion of great joy. Some of the original watercolor artwork of William Steig was rediscovered as an exhibit of Steig’s art was being prepared. In 2005 Simon and Schuster released a deluxe edition of this 1970 Caldecott winner with the color reproductions exactly as Steig intended them to be. That volume also includes his Caldecott acceptance speech. Readers may enjoy the Weston Woods video production of Sylvester read by John Lithgow. A teacher’s guide accompanies the video.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12.

Stop for a minute and think about all the different ways you use your cell phone beyond making calls throughout your day. Do you use it to read and answer email? Schedule appointments? Get turn-by-turn directions? Calculate the size of a tip you should leave at a restaurant? Send a photo? Look up the meaning or spelling of a word? Log onto Facebook or Twitter?

Now, think about all of the different ways your students use their phones on a daily basis.

The fact is, multimedia changes the ways in which people interact with the world. It also changes the ways your students learn. The trick is to maximize their interest in these pocket-sized computers, and guide students to become analytical and critical consumers and creators.

Educators can (and should) provide explicit instruction for multimedia technology embedded within curriculum in order to equip students with the critical mind they need to make smart decisions about the use of such technology. When given the right environment, with guided and purposeful instruction, students ultimately see the device as a tool from which they can learn, and not a secret they try to hide under their desk.

To increase engagement, connect students’ real-world experiences to classroom instruction, and teach key content material, think about modeling and facilitating the use of cell phones in the following ways:

Get functional. You no longer have to worry about a shortage of equipment, because cell phones have a built-in calculator function. This is an exciting way to work on math problems. Other common functions allow you to utilize most phones as a stop watch, compass, calendar, or voice memo recorder—all of which lend themselves to math, science, social studies, and language arts classes.

Take a picture—it lasts longer. Students can record class discussion for later reference (with teacher and class permission). Lessons can be uploaded to YouTube or the more classroom-friendly TeacherTube, or even your school’s web page. Encourage students to take pictures of important notes, assignments, or group work, essentially creating a “permanent” record they can refer back to.

E-share files. Teachers can send students electronic files to save on photocopies. There are several ways to do this for no cost, and most programs will allow sharing between cell phones and computers. Check out Evernote, Dropbox, or Schooltown to select a free sharing method and start giving and receiving important content information with your students.

There’s an app for that. When it comes to reference guides, there are many free applications students can get for their cell phones that are very helpful—everything from dictionaries to translators. Using these applications can often make the reference process much more desirable.

Make research more fun. Most cell phones have the capability to access the Internet, which affords students instant retrieval of key information during independent, small group or partner work. You no longer have to disrupt class with hall passes or transitions to the computer lab—cell phones can do it for you.

Extend and refine learning. Students and teachers can go deeper or refine knowledge using the free Khan Academy application. Topics such as algebra, chemistry, and more are covered in short mini lessons. These resources can be used to provide one-on-one individualized instructional help/guidance.

Expand your teacher tool chest. Shake things up by trying out some of the cool new teacher tools, such as Poll Everywhere, which gives students opportunities to text answers to you and for you to receive instant feedback. There is also LocaModa, which allows instant feedback but in a social media format using multimedia forms. Another website that supports student responses in real time is Socrative.

Let them go social. Students can text, tweet, or blog responses to questions. They can text the teacher, each other, or just simply analyze, synthesize, evaluate, or criticize content text. This can be accomplished with little hassle and security using Class Parrot. You can also check out Google Voice for additional ways to stay in written contact with your students.

Continue to think outside the box. There are also several activities that become media-based using cell phones, such as a “take-a-picture” scavenger hunt, Geocaching, or representing learning by visual or dramatic representation captured with cell phone capabilities. Invite students to use their phones for homework fun by creating questions that were not answered during learning, and visiting ChaCha to explore answers to share with the class the next day.

photo: Johan Larsson via photopin cc

You may be thinking, “This is all well and good, but what about the students who don’t have cell phones? Or those who did but cannot use them to their full functionality due to cost?” After all, either scenario can cause a digital divide amongst learners.

The first solution to the gap requires you to think beyond a phone. Most of the functions on a cell phone are also available on an iPod or tablet, including texting. But let’s say your school cannot afford to purchase a class set of Kindle Fires. There are ways to obtain them through alternative means, such as by writing a grant.

If you have never written a grant before, then the National Education Association (NEA) offers educators tips for writing grants to educators. You can find the right grant by asking the grants department in your district, or by visiting a site like Teachers Network.

Another way you can get these devices to use in your classroom is to write up a plan, just like you would for a grant, and explain to local businesses what and how you plan to use the electronic devices. Remember to mention the participatory gap and how we all need to work together to close it. Offer advertisement options with the donation of a device, such as their logo or business card on your school website, or a cover for the device with their business logo. You can make affordable custom covers at sites like SkinIt. Be creative!

You could also help close the divide by purchasing classroom devices slowly. For instance, you could get one with department funds and/or teacher lead money. Remember that Apple offers refurbished iPads for a discount.

Cell phones in the classroom can be a powerful resource across the curriculum for both teachers and students in middle and high school classes. Whether students send, find, take, or create with their cell phones inside or outside of the school environment, teachers need to think about the role they want to play in this multimedia literacy. Keep in mind that the use of these digital devices affords benefits beyond measure—especially when used with the right lessons, for the right outcomes, and with the right instruction.

Lisa Fisher is a passionate literacy advocate. In addition to her experiences of being an intensive reading teacher for struggling readers, a literacy coach for middle and high school, and former adjunct instructor at Pasco Hernando Community College, Lisa has written several books, including SURVIVING THE MOVE AND LEARNING TO THRIVE (2011) and READ, DISCUSS, AND LEARN: USING LITERACY GROUPS TO STUDENT ADVANTAGE (2010).

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