SMS

What: Mobile phone message services.

Ease of use:

For many schools, it can be difficult to introduce mobile phone use in the classroom, particularly when you have to consider or justify the cost of messages to the individual. With this in mind, the writing suggestion outlined first requires no actual phones, simply writing using SMS language.

Using phones in the classroom however, can be a very rewarding experience, particularly as the relationship you can build with students and their writing with regard to text time and space are unique. How, when and where you write, and how it influences the end product can be lots of fun and particularly interesting.

Writing application:

In a number of instances, mobiles have been used by people to SMS final messages. Ask the students to write a final message using SMS. It's suggested that the context of where they are and why is up to them.

A precursor to this exercise should be a discussion about the type of language used in SMS in order that those students less familiar with SMS have a point of reference. You might like to build a collection of commonly used terms as a class before you begin the writing exercise.

Another precursor to this exercise is to discuss with students the personalisation of their phones. What ring tone do they use? Why? What does it say about them? Do they simply use the default ringtone? Why? What does that say? Ring tones, customised jackets, features, cost, accessories, dangling jewels.

Phones are now quite an intimate part of many young adult lives. How personalisation of phones is perceived by them, and what it says about their personality, their susceptibility to media messages can be revealing. Beginning with a discussion in this way makes them more aware of how personal these objects often are in our lives, how much a part of our every day. The weight of this may then influence the story students tell.

Writing application:

Simply writing a story using SMS is a revealing exercise. The speed you write and how, where, and what you write are all influential in the end product. Many SMS messages are short, to the point. Misrepresenting a message is common. 'What did she mean 'I'm your friend'? Did she mean I'm YOUR friend, or 'I'M your friend'? Emphasis not always easy to convey clearly.

Ask the students to write a story using mobiles from a location within the school. The story must be related to the time and place in which they are writing. Have them send the stories to one number (perhaps your own?) when it's time to read them out.

Suited: Secondary school - due to a more confronting theme.