Personal

Thank you for visiting my page. Like the flowers in the picture, I feel we should try harder to see the beauty in everything and every situation. This will leave little time for petty issues and negativity. When students become distracted by peers, electronics, and other things, I ask them to research topics relative to our current content discussion.

I am a firm believer that teaching can be enhanced through the use of technology.  Most students have hand-held devices and lessons may become more stimulated through the use of these learning tools.  Cell phones or tablets should only be used to locate information, stream live videos, or respond to open-ended questions in the classroom. One of the stipulations in my class is that cell phones or watches are to be placed flat on the desk at all times.  This limits the propensity for texting or engaging in otherwise prohibited behavior during class time.

It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you stand on as it relates to cell phone use in the classroom, one thing is for sure; cell phones are here to stay! As teachers we may fear that students will use their devices to post pictures or comments to social media during class time. These concerns are completely understandable. But allowing students to use cell phones in the classroom for specific, academic purposes has the power to increase student engagement and allow teachers to more effectively assess learning on a daily basis. (Giambalvo, 2015)