Every teacher occasionally has a student ask them a question they don’t know the answer to.  A typical response usually is “That is an excellent question, let me find out and get back to you tomorrow!”  Then sometime before school the next day two things happen; you either spend time researching to find the answer or you forget.  When class begins the next day, the student will often forget themselves and if they do remember, it is easy to continue on with the lesson and simply forget about it.  I consider this a missed opportunity to teach a curious student.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY!  

Next time a student asks you a question you don’t know the answer to; have them look it up……right in class.  Let them get out their cell phone and find the answer.  Give them the incentive to use the technology they love to use, right in class.  I find that restricting students today from using the tools that are such an instrumental part of their lives, makes no sense!  Use this technology as a “carrot” for students to ask questions.  Let me explain how I do this.

I use a cell phone service called Cha Cha.  They have a website ( www.chacha.com ) and there is no charge on their part (charges based on your text plan).  They will give you a couple of free questions and then you need to sign up on their site.  It took me less than one minute to sign up.  It is that easy! 

Remember, as with any project or implementation of technology, you need to set up criteria that work for your classroom.  I personally don’t let students decide when to use the text service.  They first have to ask a legitimate question, then get my approval to text.  Sometimes I am able to find an answer for them using my Smartboard.

This idea of text messaging in the classroom is only the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of what could be done in the classroom with cell phones.  The way I see it, why not limit this technology, under a controlled environment, until “we teachers” feel comfortable to do more.  I do know this; suppressing technology in a classroom is not a recipe for success.  I am sure if you text “Cha Cha” they can give you a long list of how suppressing something in education/society has failed!