Celly

1. Celly Kaitlin Mason ITEC 7445 Dr. Chiavacci November 11, 2013 Emerging Technology

2. What is CELly? • Celly is an online program that allows educators to communicate with parents and students via their iPhones, droids, web, or text messages. • It looks similar to twitter and other social media sites, but it is more secure. It does not display private information, just usernames. • Teachers can create multiple “cells” under their username for different classes or activities. • Each cell can be set to private or public depending how it is being used.

3. What is Celly? • Within the cell, teachers can create polls and discussions to engage their students. • Students can respond through an app or via a text message. This helps to include all students even the ones who do not own smartphones. • Watch this brief video that explains Celly in a little more detail. • Celly for Educators • Also see, this page for more information.

4. How can celly be used? • Celly can be used in a variety of ways to support learning. • Teachers can send out alerts to students to remind them of upcoming assignments. • Teachers can have students participate in small group discussions while displaying all the comments on the cell on the board. • Teachers can create polls for students to respond to and display the results on the board for discussion.

5. Celly and the vision of technology • Barrow County Schools does not have a formal technology vision statement. • However, Celly fits in with the AHS administration’s view of technology within the classroom. • Administration wants technology in the classroom to be interactive and support student learning. They believe that we need to use technology to our advantage instead of fighting against it. • Celly provides this opportunity because it engages students through text messages and a social media platform in order to have class discussions.

6. Celly and the vision of technology • Barrow County is in the process of creating a Bring Your Own Device policy. • Students are allowed to use their own devices in the classroom with teacher permission. • Celly is a good online program to use because it allows students who do not have a smartphone to access the same information and participate through text messages.

7. What student learning objectives does celly meet? • Collaborative learning: Celly is very focused around collaborative learning. The idea is that students use Celly to engage in authentic discussions that are recorded and can be displayed to dissect with the whole class. • Writing: Celly can be used to help students develop writing. The program has students writing routinely if used daily. Teachers can have students focus on creating well-developed sentences that express their ideas and thoughts.

8. How can celly be used to meet the standards? • Using Celly would help students meet the following standards consistently: • ELACC11-12W6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information. • ELACC11-12SL1:Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. • ELACC11-12W10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

9. How can celly be used to meet the standards? • While the standards on the previous slide are specific to my content and grade level, most subjects have similar standards that involve collaboration. • Students would be using Celly to share their writing and thoughts with each other while obtaining feedback and new arguments/information in collaborative discussions. • Celly is a great collaborative tool within the classroom. • Content standards can be integrated into the use of Celly depending on what the subject matter of the discussion is focused around.

10. Differentiation • There are different opportunities for differentiation within Celly. • Students can be placed in flexible learning groups that allow them to be grouped based on ability or interest or learning needs. • Celly offers quiet, soft spoken, or shy students the opportunity to participate in discussions other than speaking out loud in class. • The reminders on Celly help to keep students focused and on-task. It allows teachers to remind students to study or to complete an assignment.

11. Who can use Celly? • Celly is available for all teachers, students, and parents. • Celly would be most appropriate for high school students who have access to a cell phone. • Most high school students have access to a cell phone. If not, computers can be used to access the same information. • This program would not be recommended for elementary students, and middle school teachers should obtain parent permission first. • Permission forms are available to be downloaded online.

12. Connecting with the community • Celly can be used on a larger scale to include parents, administrators, and other community members. • Teachers can include parents in the discussions being held in class by inviting them to log in and give their thoughts on a particular discussion. This could be done in the same cell as the students’ discussion or in another cell just for parents. This could also apply for administrators and other community members. • Teachers can text parents updates on what is going on in class to keep them involved and in the loop.

13. Equipment needed • Celly is a great program because it does not require much equipment to use it. • It can be used on a variety of platforms though cell phones would be the most common. Computers, tablets, and any devices with internet would also work. • All students would need some sort of device available to them. They could pair with a student who had a device in order to have access to it.

14. Technical support • There are many videos on Celly’s YouTube channel that offer support and troubleshooting as well as how-to’s. • There is a technology support specialist in the building that would be able to assist teachers. • Celly support staff answers questions and assists teachers promptly and effectively.

15. Limitations and safety • Celly is only as effective as the teacher using it. • Make sure to inform parents of your use of Celly, and ask for permission for the students to use the program. • Teachers, students, and parents can interact through text messages, but no one has access to the actual phone numbers. Celly keeps a log of all interactions made on the site to protect both students and teachers. • Teachers can make their cells private and require a password to access them. This allows teachers to control who can access student information.

16. Cost of celly • One of the really great things about this program is that it is free for students, teachers, parents, administrators, and coaches. • It is possible for educators to pay five dollars a month for extra features. • The school can purchase a license at a discounted rate so all teachers can have the extra features, but it is not necessary.

17. Cost of Celly • If the school wanted to purchase the additional features of Celly, the cost could come out of the school curriculum budget or the technology fund. • You can sign up for a free thirty day trial of the extra features to see if it is something that you would be interested in using. • However, Celly is always free for students.

18. Research Available on celly • Celly is still relatively new and does not have much research available on the positive or negative effects in the classroom. • Celly was created in September of 2011. • On their website, Celly links articles and reviews about the site, so that people can read what other organizations/companies/newsgroups have said about the benefits of using the site. See examples. • Time Magazine has reviewed Celly. Read the article here.

19. Research Available on Celly • There are many websites and blogs that detail how Celly is used within their classrooms and the successes or failures they have experienced. This information is extremely valuable as it is real classroom teachers expressing their thoughts and feelings on the program. Here are three examples, but there are many more online. • Blog One • Blog Two • Blog Three

20. Implementing celly • I think that the ADKAR model would be a good method to use when implementing Celly into the school. • Awareness would be the first step. A conversation would be held in small groups discussing the current reality of the school and the use of technology to engage students. The importance of connecting to students using what is important to them will be a topic for discussion. • Desire to participate is the next step. Teachers who are interested in the change will be identified. They will be the first ones to try out the program in their classrooms.

21. Implementing celly • Knowledge of the change and how to change is the next step. The teachers in the test group would go out in teams to present the data of how Celly has been working in their classrooms. Teachers would be presented with the knowledge of how to use Celly effectively in the classroom. • Ability to implement the change is the next step in the change model. Teachers would now have the ability to implement the change within their own classrooms.

22. Implementing celly • Reinforcement is the final step in the change model. Professional development or team meetings could be held every so often to add to teachers’ knowledge of the program and its features. Teachers could share how they are using the system in their classrooms. • Professional development would be necessary in implementing the change across the board.

23. Reflection • I am very interested in this emerging technology. Prior to this assignment, I had not heard of this particular site. I already use Remind101, but this is so much more than that. • I really like that the program does not require students to use smartphones. As long as they can text, they can participate. • This would be useful to me when tracking small group discussions like in literature circles.

24. Reflection • Through this assignment, I learned that there are many different, new technologies available to classroom teachers. Not all of them are expensive. Some programs, like Celly, are free for teachers and students. • I plan to use this system over the next few weeks to test it out and see how it operates in the classroom. All of the reviews I read about Celly make me excited to try out the program.