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“Students are the power tools of change in education,” Miller said. “They are the most ignored and they have the most at stake.”

I could not disagree more with the above quotation. Although there is no doubt the very same scenarios mentioned in the above article are occurring in various classrooms around the globe, I now encourage all students to bring their cellphones or smartphones to class. Just a few years prior, my colleagues and I were struggling mightily with how to integrate the crafty handheld tools.

I believe the potential of smartphones, supported by a strong classroom management system, can be summed up with what I call “The Five C’s.” Collaborate, communicate, create and coordinate/curate. Of the forty-four ideas below regarding smartphones, twelve can be accomplished with a simple cellphone. Take a look below at this enormous potential.

Establish a Twitter class account to share class assignments and reminders. If students do not want a Twitter account, make it easy. Embed the Twitter feed on your teacher page.

Send students reminders in-class/after-class through ClassParrot and Remind 101.

Have a silent discussion via Todaysmeet.com.

Write on-the-go during a field trip or active lesson on campus with Tripline.

Create a mini-presentation, skit, or formal response to a prompt and e-mail the video to teacher’s Posterous blog spot.

Use the stopwatch and timer apps to manage class time.

helping to spark a discussion

Forms click here

YouTube user Rmusallam asks his students to prepare for class by watching the introduction to new material at home. That way when they arrive at school they’re ready to apply their learning. Through this method he has dramatically increased his instructional time. If you want to learn more about Rmusallam’s methods visit flipteaching.com

Education should be about teaching children to think.”

Children can be taught to read—to decode words—but teaching them to comprehend all but the simplest text requires a shared body of knowledge between writer and reader.

To level the playing field between rich and poor, schools should intentionally build background knowledge in all children in a wide range of subjects, or, says Hirsch, “It will be impossible to break the cycle of illiteracy that persists from parent to child.”

Educators concerned with early literacy began to wonder whether the vast word gap described by Hart and Risley and the vast knowledge gap described by Hirsch might really be the intertwined roots of the achievement gap.

actively engaged in what they are learning. There’s no need for them to sit quietly in their desks while teachers bestow knowledge upon them. Instead, students participate in more active learning as they work in groups or on the computer, and complete projects and other interesting activities that will help them discover new skills. When students are encouraged to take an active interest in their education, they are more likely to retain the knowledge they’ve gained.

actively engaged in what they are learning. There’s no need for them to sit quietly in their desks while teachers bestow knowledge upon them. Instead, students participate in more active learning as they work in groups or on the computer, and complete projects and other interesting activities that will help them discover new skills. When students are encouraged to take an active interest in their education, they are more likely to retain the knowledge they’ve gained.