During a recent class, Sandy Riggs asked her 24 high school biology students to text her what they thought DNA precipitation meant.
What she got was a flood of text messages one after the other.
鈥淚 never see this with hands,鈥� said the 35-year-old teacher in Corpus Christi, Texas. 鈥淭his is awesome.鈥�
She doesn鈥檛 always give her students assignments involving text messaging. But Ms. Riggs allows her students to text her about homework, absences, or just life questions and concerns.
Ms. Riggs said using texting as an education tool has increased her students鈥� access to her, their confdence, and it has ultimately gained their trust.
鈥淭hey know I care. They are going to be more responsive,鈥� she said.
Ms. Riggs teaches college-level classes to high school students as part of the Collegiate High School program in the 38,000-student Corpus Christi Independent School District.
Damien Cisneros, 15, said he has texted Ms. Riggs to get help on homework assignments he didn鈥檛 understand or to clarify what assignment to work on.
He said in the middle school he attended, students couldn鈥檛 use their cellphones to text their teachers. But now he can, and it hashelped him become a better student because he knows he can get in touch with his teacher outside class quickly by texting.
鈥淚t gives us more security that she鈥檚 there for us,鈥� he said.
鈥楾he New Age鈥�
Maria Rodriguez, 14, said she gets in touch with Ms. Riggs through texting at least twice a week, usually with questions about homework. She said she appreciates Ms. Riggs making herself accessible to her students in that way because without that option she鈥檇 have trouble keeping up in class.
鈥淚 would be here after school probably every day,鈥� she said.
Collegiate High School Principal Tracie Rodriguez said the science and English departments use texting the most with class assignments. Teachers can choose whether they want students to text them. The trend began with a student asking if it would be permissible to text a teacher, she said.
She said at one time students were coming to class with incomplete assignments, and texting was a way for the students to feel comfortable getting in touch with teachers outside class.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very short and concise,鈥� Ms. Rodriguez said. 鈥淭he students have a greater understanding when it is to the point.鈥�
She said that at the school, staff members also communicate with each other through texting because some are spread out across the campus.
The school does still enforce a rule that cellphones can鈥檛 be used in class unless approved beforehand as part of a class assignment or in an emergency, she said.
In addition, parents haven鈥檛 expressed concerns about their students鈥� cellphone bills or texting charges, she said.
Despite those potential concerns, Ms. Rodriguez said she hopes the school can continue using digital tools and tactics like texting in innovative ways.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the new age,鈥� she said.
