Using Text-Messaging in the Secondary Classroom

Kevin M. Thomas
Bellarmine University, KY
USA

Corrie Orthober
Bellarmine University, KY
USA

Nick Schultz
Knox County Schools, TN
USA

Abstract: This pilot study, conducted in the spring of 2008, asked high school students in two
English and one Latin class to voluntarily participate in receiving course related text messages via
their personal cell phones. Of the 66 students in the three classes, 46 (70%) participated in
receiving text messages from their teachers. The two participating teachers texted students
concerning a variety of course related topics. The purpose of the study was to discover the potential
uses and barriers to use of text messaging in a public secondary setting. The findings indicate that
students found the use of instructor generated text messaging to be beneficial in expanding the
boundaries of the classroom and increase course related interaction. However, the limitations of
this study due to lack of access by all participants warrants further research to more fully explore
the classroom applications of text messaging.

Introduction
The ubiquitous nature of cell phones has changed the way many people conduct their personal and
professional lives. Nowhere is this more obvious than with teenagers. For this generation of teens, cell phones are as
much a part of their culture as rap music and Red Bull. Getting a cell phone is a teenage rites of passage of the
magnitude once reserved for getting a driver’s license. Students personalize their phones with color choice,
faceplates, screen savers and of course ring tones. When cell phones first appeared in the halls of schools over a
decade ago, school systems banned students from bringing their phones on school grounds. After the Columbine
incident, schools reluctantly acquiesced to parental pressure to allow cell phones in schools, with the understanding
that they were not to be out during school hours, and inadvertently opened a Pandora’s Box of problems for
educators. The crux of the problems with cell phones in schools is not students’ desire to make calls from school.
No, it is something much more insidious—text messaging. Based on my own classroom experience teaching in a
public high school, texting appears to be an addiction for many teenagers. I honestly believed that for some teens
going without texting for the duration of a 90 minute class was akin to a two packs a day smoker having to do
without a cigarette for the same amount of time. Thus, cell phones have become just one more divisive issue that
pits teacher against students; one more cat and mouse game to divert us from education. Students try to text and
teachers try to catch them.

Text messages can be sent from one mobile provider to another using the Short Message Service (SMS)
capacity that is built into the Groupe Spéciale Mobile (GSM) wireless standard of most cell phones (Newton 2000).
A 2005 study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that almost half (45%) of all teens and 57% of
teens age 15-17 have cell phones. Of the 11 million plus teens who have cell phones, 36%, up from 33% in 2005, of
them are sending text messages (Pew 2008). Teens use text messaging for a variety of communication: arranging
times to meet, coordinating with friends, chatting and gossiping and coordinating with family (Grinter & Eldridge
2001).When one considers constructivist’s learning theory’s emphasis on communication (Vygotsky 1978) and
technology’s ability to promote student to student, student to content and student to teacher interaction (Jonassen
1998; Thomas 2008), text messaging would appear to have instructional merit. When one pairs this with the fact that
teens are freely using text-messaging in vast numbers, the instructional potential seems all the more alluring. With
this in mind, one might ask, “Instead of trying to stop teens from texting, should we be texting with them about
class?” It was with this question in mind that this pilot study was conducted. The studies purpose was to explore the
benefits and barriers associated with implementing the use of text messaging for classroom communication between
students and instructors in a secondary school.

Background
Texting messaging is an attractive tool for use in the classroom because the size of cell phones makes them
unobtrusive, the majority of the students are already familiar with their operation, and students find that texting
complements classroom interaction (Motiwalla 2007). Students love text messaging because they have found it to be
“quick, cheap, and easy to use” (Grinter & Eldridge 2001, p. 220). In fact, they prefer to use it over more traditional
means of communication like land line phones, email, instant message, even calling on their cell phones (Grinter &
Eldridge 2001). Students prefer it to these other forms for several reasons. First, the 160 characters allowed by SMS
technology forces students to keep their messages short. The terseness this requires is noted as a benefit by students
who say this allows them to get quick, short answers and avoid the social conventions normally associated with
conversations and keeps people from going off topic. Second, students state they have grown accustom to the
interface and this allows them to write messages quickly (Grinter and Eldridge 2001).

Beside the fact that students are already enamored with texting, the benefits of utilizing text messaging in
the classroom are numerous. Like many other forms of computer mediated communication (CMC), text messaging,
have the capability to support interaction (student to student, student to instruction and students to content) from
anyplace and at anytime (Liu 2003; Markett 2006; Motiwalla 2007; Stones, Briggs & Smith 2002). This anytime,
anyplace convenience has been cited by students as beneficial because it allows them to multitask. Motiwalla (2007)
found that students like the fact that the versatility of cell phones/text messaging gives them the ability to access
course material and communicate with peers and instructor in what would otherwise be periods of dead time---like
while they are riding on the bus, waiting to be picked up, or at an appointment to name a few. Students in this study
emphasized their busy schedules and praised text messaging because it allowed them to make full use of their time
when and where they could. Texting also has certain features that made them the preferred choice of students.
Texting is quiet (Grinter & Eldridge 2001; Mitchell, Heppel & Kadiriere 2002). This feature allows students to
communicate and collaborate in situations that would normally not allow it---for example the library).

Asynchronicity is another instructional benefit of text messaging. The asynchronous nature of texting
allows students time for reflection. This is also supported by the archival feature of text messaging that permits
students to follow the interaction (Markett 2006). Students may think of a comment or point to add to a previous
classroom discussion after leaving school, and texting allows them to add this comment to the discussion. Similarly,
some students may not feel comfortable making comment in the classroom. This could be due to certain students
tending to dominate classroom discussion or because a student’s is shy. Again, texting provides a place for these
students to participate in the classroom discussion (Davis 2003; Markett 2006).

There are many benefits to embracing these “mini-terminals for text-based communication” (Grinter and
Eldridge 2001, p. 219) for use in the K-12 classroom. Due to the omnipresent nature of cell phones the majority of
students are already in possession of them and are extremely well versed in their use. Therefore, expenditure and
training would be minimal. Additionally, text messaging via cell phones supports a wide array of instructional
benefits including anywhere and anytime interaction with peers, instructors and course content as well as providing
a medium to receive, reflect upon and communicate with classmates concerning courses related material.

Methodology
The purpose of this study was to understand the benefits and barriers associated with using text messaging
in a public high school; therefore, a qualitative study was the appropriate methodology. This methodology was most
appropriate for addressing the purpose of understanding student’s perceptions concerning the use of text messaging
for school related reasons.
Participants
Sixty-six students participated in this study. There were 27 males and 39 females. Students’ ages ranged
from 15-17 years of age. All of the students attended a large, urban school in a southern state. The school is on a
block schedule format. The school year consists of two semesters. Students take four 90 minute classes each
semester. Participants were taken from three classes: two sophomore advanced placement English classes (23
students in one class and 22 in the other) and one first year Latin class (21 students).

At the beginning of the semester, all three classes were given the option of receiving emails from their
instructors concerning class. Students were told that they would receive reminders about test and homework as well
as other text concerning class assignments. However, participation was voluntary. Those students who wished to
participate were instructed to send their instructor an email with their area code, cell phone numbers and the names
of their service providers. These numbers were then place in a group list in email and all text messages were sent to
students via email from either school or home.

Data Collection
Data was collected from three sources: student surveys, the actual text messages that were sent (by both
instructors and students), and discussions, both during and after the study, between the two participating teachers.
Although this is a qualitative study, the primary method of qualitative data, observation, was not available due to the
nature of the study (students made post from locations outside of the school hours and location). A survey was
developed and used in lieu of direct observation to collect data. The survey provided insight into the participants’
demographics as well as their perception concerning the use or lack thereof of text messaging. The survey was
design to assist in understanding the benefits and barriers associated with using text messaging as well as students’
perceptions on improving the use of text messaging in their classes. The first 10 questions of the survey were
multiple-choice. These questions gathered demographic information as well as information concerning the
participants’ cell phone/text messaging use outside of school. These questions helped determine whether there were
any differences arising from age, sex and the classes of those who used text messaging and those who did not.
Question 9 asked student to answer “yes” or “no” to whether or not they used the class text messaging. If students
answered “no” to Question 8, they were asked to answer Question 9. Question 9 asked them to explain why they did
not use text messaging, thus helping to understand the barriers to use. If they answered “yes” to Question 8, then
they were asked to answer questions 10-18. These questions addressed various aspects of the use of text messaging
over the course of the semester. Finally, an open ended question at the end of the survey asked for any additional
comments. A log was keep of the text the teachers sent and those received from students. These messages were
stored in email and a backup word document.

Findings
Survey data indicates that of the 66 student who participated in the study, 63 (96%) of them had cell
phones. Three students did not have cell phones. Sixty (91%) of the students use their cell phones to send text
messages. Twenty-three of these students reported text messaging daily. The other 27 (45%) stated that they texted
hourly. The majority of the students, 36 (60%), reported sending more than 20 texts a day. Twenty-six (43%)
reported receiving more than 20 texts per day. Of the 66 students in the study, 46 (70%) received text messages from
their instructor and 20 students did not. Two of the researchers (Thomas and Schultz) were also the teachers of
record for the classes used in this study. They both sent text messages to their students over the course of the spring
semester of the 2008 school year.

Beneficial
Students are using text messaging for school related purposes. The reason they are doing this is because
they have found it to be beneficial. Text messaging allows students a means of communicating with their classmates
for a variety of course related activities. Likewise, in this study students found the teacher generated text to be
beneficial for class work. Most notably students benefited from the reminders but also used it to ask questions and
get caught up when absent.
 One of the findings of the study is that students are already taking advantage of texting for school work.
When asked if they texted their friends about school work, 28 (44%) acknowledged that they did. An additional nine
(14%) said that they did sometimes and two (3%) said they did but rarely. One student said that she received them,
but did not send them. Only nine students who participated in receiving text from their instructors stated that they
had never texted a friend about school work.

Why do students send course related text messages to their friends? The answer is that these students have
found it to be beneficial. Students’ responses on the survey indicate that they text message classmates for a variety
of course related reasons. Students’ texts friends to asks or answer questions about assignments; likewise, they texts
to ask for help or offer help to others concerning class work. Also, students indicated that they text message their
classmates when they have been absent from class to find out what they have missed.

The same benefits were reported by students concerning receiving course related text from their teachers.
Of the 63 students who received text messaging, 58 (92%) found it beneficial. Students reported that the text were
often beneficial reminders. They claimed that these reminders were beneficial in helping to improve their grades
because they did not forget to do their assignment or study for their test. Students further acknowledged that it was
“cool” having reminders of what to study and that this made class easier. Furthermore, they liked the immediacy of
knowing they could get their questions answered by the teacher if they needed.

Forty-three of the students’ (68%) perceived the function of the text messaging to be predominately as a
means of reminding them of assignments, dates and/or test material. Although this is a limited application of this
tool, this application should not be discounted. Students responses showed that the reminders that they received
were extremely helpful in ensuring that they came to class prepared when they had forgotten their assignments and
as one student noted had “saved their butt” on more than one occasion and overall contributed to students success in
their course. Several of the students noted that due to their busy schedules they often forgot to complete assignments
or study for tests and pointed out that the instructor’s texts were valuable reminders. Likewise, several students
noted the benefits of these reminders on days when they had been absent from class. They pointed out that the
instructor’s texts allowed them to not fall behind and come to class prepared. Several students (7/11%) did use
texting to ask their instructor questions and help on homework and expressed that this allowed them to not get stuck
and frustrated when working on course work. Likewise, students noted the benefits of their teacher providing extra
problems for them to complete.

When asked if they would like for their other teachers to use texting in their classroom, students again
brought up the benefits of these reminders. One student stated that he would never forget to do his homework again
and that these reminders were especially helpful over the weekend. Another student’s comment concerning the use
of texting by instructors summarized it all. When asked if other teachers should use texting she responded “Of
course! There is no reason not to.”

Barriers
Teacher generated text for class work was not without problems. Not all students had phones, phones with
text messaging or wanted to participate. Lack of access is a barrier to the implementation of many technological
applications in the classroom. Another problem often associated with the use of technology in the classroom,
technological problems was another barrier. Unlike the other barriers noted by students, time teacher’s sent text and
slow response, access and technological barriers are not easily addressed.

In regards to barriers to participation, only three participants (5%) did not have access to a cell phone and
six others (9%) stated that they did not text. When asked why they did not participate, the majority of students with
cell phones responded that 1) either they (6%) don’t text or their phones do not support texting, or 2) they (6%)
could not figure out how to participate. In regards to this finding, it must be noted that for two of the three classes in
order to participate they had to be able to received text messages via email. Some of the student’s service providers
did not support receiving text messages from email. (This was a condition that allowed the instructor to send text
messages with 1) giving students his personal cell phone number and 2) not being charged for sending text from his
personal cell. This will be addressed further in the discussion/conclusion section.). With the exception of this,
technical problems were all but absent from this study. This is in stark contrast to much of the research concerning
the implementation of technology in the classroom. Overall, 54 (86%) of the 63 students who received texts reported
no down time. Only two of those reporting problems indicated the nature of their text interruption: they were
grounded. Additionally, students reported they did not participate because they had a limited allotment of texts and
that they simply did not want to receive text from their instructor.

The fact that all students did not have cells/text was by far the biggest barrier for taking full advantage of
what student feedback demonstrates to be a tool that has the potential to be an exceptional means of expanding the
boundaries of the traditional classroom. This short coming was even addressed by several students who in their
survey comments noted that one way to improve or one limitation of this study was to expand it in order to
incorporate more students.

Students also did not like that their instructors texted them late at night and early in the morning. In fact 12
students commented that they would like to receive text at what they perceived to be a more appropriate hour. At
least one student noted that the instructor’s messages cut off (discussion provider who sends two messages if it gets
long.). Another student also noted frustration due to the fact that the instructor was new to texting and therefore
texted too slowly.

Discussions
The vast majority of students who participated in this study: 1) had cell phones, 2) used text messaging and
3) found texting beneficial for school work. Sixty-one percent of the students reported that they were already using
text messaging on their own for school related activities. These findings would appear to support some degree of
classroom applications for this technology.

In support of much of the research in this area, students found instructor generated text to be beneficial
(92%) in helping them to expand the boundaries of class to anywhere and anytime and to interact. (Liu 2003;
Markett 2006; Motiwalla 2007; Stones, Briggs & Smith 2002). In support of the finding of Motiwalla (2007),
students also cited the use of the text for reminders, to ask questions and to get course related information when they
were absent as examples of using text to interact with their course outside of school. Students cited the ability of
texting to accommodate their busy schedules in regards to anywhere/place interaction as another major benefit of
this technology (Motiwalla 2006).

However, the scope of this study was greatly limited by the lack of access for all students. Due to the lack
of access, use had to be limited primarily to sending reminders, answering questions, and posting additional work
problems. Feedback from students indicated that they had already been utilizing texting for a far wider scope of
school related activities like asking for help, offering help and other collaborative and social constructivist activities.
Students’ unsolicited adoption of the technology would seem to indicate some benefit; students urged on their
surveys for 1) the need to expand the use of course related texting to classmates and other teachers.

Considering the number of students already taking advantage of this technology there would appear to be
great potential for implementing its use in the classroom. Texts messages can be sent via email ensuring that
teachers incur no cost and text messages can be sent from school computers; however, it must be noted that some
service providers do not support this means of SMS delivery. Having said that, further research is necessary to
explore fully the use of text messaging in the classroom (Rochelle 2003) to discover the scope of its application and
to ensure the appropriate utilization of it in regards to sound pedagogical infusion into the classroom (Hoppe, Joiner,
Milrad & Sharples 2003).

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