Cell Phones in the Classroom

The year started off with a great personal success for me -- I was quoted in the January issue of Empowered Learner. Of course, I support the use of devices in the classroom when it is appropriate. My feeling is that we should be teaching our students how and when to use technology. If we only ban the device, we only make it more alluring and fail to teach appropriate use and self-regulation. The devices aren't going away; they will have them in college and in the work place. If the student was doodling on a notebook with a pen, would you ban the notebook and the pen? No! Why not help them learn to use it effectively and efficiently? Isn't it our job to help them learn?

Happy New Year! Let's make 2020 a great success for all learners.

Scanning Documents with a iPhone

1. Open Notes and hit the + key

2. Choose Scan Documents from the menu

3. Adjust the scanned image and hit Keep Scan 

Sometimes a person asks me a question that makes me realize that the world has changed, but the person asking the question doesn't know it. Today's question involved one of the faculty members asking about how to get our photocopier to scan documents. To actually change it requires super-admin privileges, no one on campus has that level. The company we lease the machine from has to send out a representative to change it. This will not happen immediately, so I asked the teacher about using her/his phone. She/he said, "Oh, but I don't want a photo of it. I want a real scanned copy, so the quality is good." I calmly asked, "What type of phone do you have?" She/he replied, "An iPhone 7." I explained that in Notes, you can scan a document now. I have included a three-step guide on how to do it. No other apps are needed. But even if you have an older phone, you can download QR Reader from the app store for iOS or Android. The great thing about the QR Reader app is that you can also create your own QR codes with it. Don't live in the Dark Age!