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In my first post in this series - Getting students' attention - I mentioned the use of backchannels. This post should give you more information about the use of backchannels within the classroom. If you are working in a classroom where your students have internet connected devices, either through wifi or their mobile phone, using a backchannel can have a transformative impact on the way you can use technology with your students...

Many commonalities are emerging in these NetGen videos -- one of which is the importance of harnessing the power of mobiles in learning. Whether or not you agree or feel that the students are being "whiney" (as many educators often think with such videos) -- there is a point to be made. I have particularly noticed how kids keep gravitating to the itouch and iphone as useful in school - it has reappeared over and over in these student videos. They were given free reign to picture improvements in THEIR education based upon the research of their generation and they keep coming back here. It has me thinking -- no conclusions yet, but really, they are teaching me.

Common trends of cell phones and mobiles in the classroom.

Acceptable use policies including mobile phones

Just turned up this very nice post by Doug Belshaw about Acceptable Use Policies that Include Cell phones - this one and the one he wrote before it are very nice talking points for your committe who looks at AUP's.

Does your "cell phone" policy include a policy for wearable technology. What will you do when a student shows up wearing Google glass? How about when they go into the locker room? Think about it and adjust your AUP's this summer - next summer will be too late. "A heads-up display seems like a natural fit, and thus we have Google Glass. It's a headset with a projected display, a camera and a data connection that could revolutionize the mobile device industry. It could also cause a public uproar over privacy concerns. Is the potential worth the risk?"

The global film on the fly challenge. There was a challenge on March 14th - it is a mobile phone filmmaking contest.

Mobile Apps to replace Jott's functionality.

A reader named Liesl send in this great article from LifeHacker about the alternatives to Jott. Actually, after reading this, there really isn't an alternative to Jott without a lot of elbow grease. I may be coughing up the $3.95 a month. I just really use it. However, I'm going to email them. I NEED A FAMILY PLAN! I have my children using Jott on their cell phones but they use it very infrequently. I should be able to have some sort of family plan for our situation.

Shrink2One converts multiple links into one small (shrinked) link which you can use to share on several Instant messengers like yahoo, gTalk, jabber, AIM etc, email or even on a mobile phone SMS.

The Pangea Day Mission & Purpose Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film. Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that - to help people see themselves in others - through the power of film. The Pangea Day Event Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast - in seven languages - to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

According to Nielsen Mobile, in the first quarter of 2009, the average U.S teenager made and received an average of 191 phone calls and sent and received 2,899 text messages every month. By the third quarter, the number of texts jumped to a whopping 3,146 messages per month. This is equivalent to more than 10 text messages per hour.

digital citizenship headed for the clouds...

Share your story and earn money. What's the deal? Prizes: One $10,000USD grand prize; six $500USD category prizes (three awarded to schools per category and three awarded to individuals per category). Prizes are in US Dollars or equivalent in British Pound Sterling or Canadian Dollars at contest closing date. Deadline: Upload by 11:59:59 PM US Pacific Time on April 5, 2011 Check out what time this is where you live Content: Your video must address one of three issues Being A Good Online Citizen Using A Mobile Phone Wisely Maintaining Your Privacy Online Eligibility: All residents of Canada (excluding Quebec), the UK and the US, 13 years of age and older.

It's a Multiphysics World The real world is multiphysics in nature. Consider your mobile phone. The antenna receives electromagnetic waves, the touch screen or buttons are mechanical and electrical components, the battery involves chemical reactions and electrical current, and so on. A single device, but multiphysics. Since it's a multiphysics world, your simulation tool must be multiphysics capable in order to correctly capture the important aspects of your design. The COMSOL Multiphysics approach starts with first principles like transport phenomena, electromagnetic field theory, and solid mechanics as the basic fibers of the software. Then, in an elegant and flexible user interface, you can weave these fibers together in a self-consistent way to solve your particular simulation needs. "COMSOL allows us to couple mechanisms in a very nice and simple way, allowing us to understand their combined effect. This is the true power of simulation." -- Dr Roberto Suarez-Rivera of Schlumberger. COMSOL Multiphysics delivers the ideal tool to build simulations that accurately replicate the important characteristics of your designs. Its unparalleled ability to include all relevant physical effects that exist in the real world is known as multiphysics.

A fun discussion topic with technology students, this blog post about futuristic inventions in wearable tech includes buttons that are really mp3 players, a dress with room for a sim card that makes it funciton as a mobile phone when you lift your wrist, and the one I want -- the Massage Me Massage Video game - that makes a game out of having someone massage your back! (Oh yeah!) This would be a great area to review and then have students invent their own.

This is a great site for getting your head around the common core. A free account allows you access to a lot of the features and Common Assessments. Premium accounts allow you tools to collect assessment on your iPad or mobile device. Download the MasteryConnect FREE app for your iP*d or phone and have every Common Core standard easily accessible at your finger tips.

"Although many schools ban smartphones, the reality is that many pupils have them hidden away, or are an integral part of their lives once they leave the premises. The 'Selfy' phenomenon is clearly here to stay, but this video (created by London-based design and animation studio weareseventeen) illustrates how we can easily be distracted with our devices, missing out on the world around us - which could be useful for a discussion / assembly activity within schools when talking about online use or safety:"

"A stunning collection of immersive VR stories which can be viewed via a mobile phone or VR headset. Turn the device to view the scene as the stories unfold."