Text Your Students with E-mail
I always get my students' e-mails and will occasionally send them a message. It is frustrating that half of them never check. In fact even after they e-mail me, they don't look for a reply. But here is a way to use cell phones, but not in the classroom. You could set up a database with their cell phone numbers and then add the code below depending on their cell phone and then they will receive a text. Certainly this way the kids will get the message. (Obviously this is one you'd want to check with the parents first to make sure they don't mind)

Sprint:

[10DigitNumber]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile:

[10DigitNumber]@tmomail.net

Verizon:

[10DigitNumber]@vtext.com

AT&T:

[10DigitNumber]@mobile.mycingular.com

Just replace [10DigitNumber] with the ten digit phone number you are trying to reach (area+ local number).

Cell Phones Uses - Podcasting
Go here to see a presentation on ways to use cell phones in class. The video takes you through each step and could easily be followed by you or your students. It is quite lengthy so I have put the highlights. But if you want to use the cellphone this is really an excellent how to video. All of the examples could be done at home if your school won't allow cell phones. Here is what is covered in the video

1. Record video or audio. You can use www.gabcast.com; www.gcast.com; www.hipcost.com; www.evoca.com (all of which are free). These sites also allow students to use landlines to make the podcasts. Gabcast will allow you make a podcast of up to one hour for each entry. It will also give you html which can then be put in your blog. Uses would include
a. getting authors to read their works
b. having students explain concepts that you are teaching
c. read poems
d. put clips from famous speeches and have kids explain them
e. radio broadcasts
f. audio interviews
g. sound clips from trips
h. ESOL students working on their language skills and integrating it with subject matter.

2. A second use of free phone conferencing is www.freeconference.com which actually allows you to have a conference call of up to 200 people! The advantage of using a cell phone is that you will not be charged long distance charges. Another is www.talkshoe.com

3. You can have free online voice mail which are at privatephone.com and jangl.com. These will give you your own phone number and for those who don't want to give out your own number, this is perfect and better yet you can get the messages via your cell phone or online.

4. Audio e-mail are found at jott.com and mindjot.com. These allow you to speak your message and it will be transcribed into a text message and even be set as an audio.com

5. Taking Movies: go.blogger.com Using bubbleshare.com you can use your phone to make pictures and then bubbleshare.com will allow you to make a slideshow. You can have all the students in one class send pictures to the same site or have invidual sites for each student. You can edit the pictures, record audio which would allow you to make a digital storybook. You can then e-mail the slideshow, add it to a blog or even to download it. Imagine going on a field trip and having an instant slideshow created by the kids.

6. If you want kids to make movies, you can use the free site of eyespot.com. They allow you to take movie clips with a phone and immediately upload it to the sites where you can edit the fim online and then publish it to a blog page.

7. This video also goes through audacity.com

8. Sending free textmessages. textforfree allows you to send free text messages.

9. To create surveys you can go to mobiode.com

10.

Watch Know Video Library
Here is a collection of short videos which can be used to study ancient world history. Topics include Egypt, Greece, Rome, Incans, Mayans, pre-historic, Ottomans and more. If you are like me, you are picking your way through all the videos I have put on this site and choosing some to use in class. If you have a student webpage, you can easily then have absent students view them on their time. Above is on of the videos, this one on Plato.

Empirical Support for Cell Phone Usage in the Classroom
I have put some of my ideas for cell phone usage on a list serve and have gotten some flak saying 1)our rules prohibit 2)the kids will abuse it if we have it. I really believe as with passing paper notes when I was a young teacher, that good teachers will 1) find a way to get kids not to look at cell phones (interactive teaching and interesting material) and over time will find good uses. At any rate International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) has a report out that looks at technological use in the classroom. Since I have a Ph.D., I am all about support (and for that matter questioning what you read), but this report cites empirical research that states the obvious. 1) we have always known that the best way to teach is to be interactive and to use tools that kids enjoy 2) that tool today is technology. As the study states (money pages are 6-8) , 10-17 year olds spend an average of 3:45 a day on cell phones and that 87% of 12-17 year olds are online EVERY DAY. Right now, unlike online activities, ideas for cell phones in the class are certainly limited, but that will change over time (see my next post for another idea for cell phones). So I am only advocating limited use and certainly NEVER to text friends.

Just in case you need more convincing, here is Sec of Education Arne Duncan advocating the use of cell phones.

Text Your Students with E-mail
I always get my students' e-mails and will occasionally send them a message. It is frustrating that half of them never check. In fact even after they e-mail me, they don't look for a reply. But here is a way to use cell phones, but not in the classroom. You could set up a database with their cell phone numbers and then add the code below depending on their cell phone and then they will receive a text. Certainly this way the kids will get the message. (Obviously this is one you'd want to check with the parents first to make sure they don't mind)

Sprint:

[10DigitNumber]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile:

[10DigitNumber]@tmomail.net

Verizon:

[10DigitNumber]@vtext.com

AT&T:

[10DigitNumber]@mobile.mycingular.com

Just replace [10DigitNumber] with the ten digit phone number you are trying to reach (area+ local number).

Guns, Germs and Steel

Based on my summer assignments link (see links on the right of this post) for AP students, "Guns, Germs and Steel" is one of the books most often used. Well, go here and your students can read it for free (I believe even on their phones - how's that for a creative use of phones for school work?) or you can embed it as I have done it above on a webpage if you have one.

AP Study Guides Online
Well I may never have to ask my students to buy another AP study guide online as here most of them are in their entirety. If you have a webpage for your students, you could even embed one or all of them as I have done. It just keeps getting better and better.

Ancient Sites in Google Earth
If you go to youtube.com and type in "Ancient sites + google earth" if you are in YouTube the above video is what you get. You can do it for anything you are studying. This one includes Google Earth scenes as well as pictures and includes Colossus of Rhodes, Greece, c.280 BC + Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt, c.285 BC + Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Turkey, 351 BC + Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece, 435 BC + Temple of Art.

Game Templates
This comes from FreeTech4Teachers. I love using review games for my students and here are templates from Jeopardy, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Wheel of Fortune, $25,000 Pyramid and more.

Great Interactive Map Review

This site asks you a world history question and then the student has to answer it by finding the place on the map. Incredible! It also is timed so the student has to really know their stuff.

Transcribe Your Voice Into a Student Text Message
Yes, you heard it. You can use this free service to record a message for your students which will then be converted into a text message. If your parents are wary of giving a phone number to this site, you can always use the post a couple of days ago where I showed you how to e-mail a text message (and for that matter students can text you back to your e-mail!).

Larry Ferlazzo's Links
Larry has some of the most helpful websites for teachers on the Internet. This is an example of why as there are hundreds of links for world history which are worth your time to go through.

Maps and more maps
Why buy another world map again with this resource. It has hundreds of maps in chronological order and they are all in color.

Great Primary Source

This source is nicely divided up to make it easier for you to search and has pictures, first person documents, historical artifacts (pictures of them) and more.

Google Earth Blog
This is a great site that shows you all the uses for GoogleEarth.com. Above is one example of how you can "go somewhere" and narrate the tour for your students. Wow!

AP World Teacher Moodle Page
First off, Moodle is an open resource page for teachers to use for their classes. It is similar to Blackboard, but it is free. You can put assignments, links, folders, etc. there. If you are like me it will make your life infinitely easier as students can print out their own assignments or see what they have to do on a day they missed.

Here is an excellent example of what a teacher can do. This is an AP World history teacher's page and it includes links for the class free response rubrics, review quizzes for each unit, study guides, and review Power Points. It is excellent.

The Scramble for Africa
Here is a fun way to study European imperialism in Africa in the 1800s. It is in a game format and includes the game, cards, etc. and it is free.

Amazing Site of Links
This site will take me a while to get though as it is a very rich source of links, video, etc. broken into a variety of topics. For our purposes, it includes categories for world and US history as well as US government.

World Religions Movie
This is a BBC production that begins with why people turn to religion, the looks at religion in pre-history and finally moves onto the major religions. The best part about this site is that the movies are broken up into segments so you only show what is appropriate to your religion course.

The Last 1000 Years
Here is a great summary, by topic, of the last 1000 years put together by The Economist.