Celly's developers have called it "a private version of Twitter," and the app shares Twitter's strengths and limitations. Aside from efficient communication with a large audience, it also offers opportunities to learn about digital citizenship. Any time you create a "cell," it's important to communicate clear expectations and ground rules with your students. If it's an "open chat" cell, teachers should instruct students on what sorts of conversations are appropriate for their class. If the cell is "curated" or "alert only," the teacher should also let students know what sorts of messages to expect.
The polling tool can be part of a class discussion, or you can use it as a milestone when transitioning between units. You can also use Celly to communicate about homework and other general updates. School- or district-level administrators could even use the app to send alerts and updates in the event of an emergency.
Continue readingCelly is a mobile social network that can be kept private among groups. While the app was popularized by its use in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Celly can do more than organize protesters. With an intuitive user interface, it can serve as an easy way for teachers to push messages and information to their students on their mobile devices. There's also a tool for posting quick and simple opinion polls.
Celly's developers are increasingly focused on the app's implications for education. They've rolled out a "Celly for Leaders" package that includes some custom features like quizzes and message scheduling. The companion website features an array of resources to help teachers adopt the app, with a live chat option, tutorial videos, FAQ's, as well as a few case studies.
Adopting Celly for the classroom can be as much about the content of your messages as it's about the context in which you send them. The premise relies on the notion that students have access to a mobile device, and that they're likely to respond to messages. While this may be true for some students, it may not be the case for all, and that's worth considering -- Celly's desktop version isn't as versatile or easy to use.
One of the app's best features is its polling tool: teachers can send a poll to students to instantly gather feedback. When using the app simply for messages, it's important for teachers to consider the best practices for online communication with students, as well as ways to be stewards and models of positive digital citizenship. Overall, Celly can be a great way to contact students through a medium they're (likely) already using. While its inherent educational potential may be limited, it can be a great tool to augment classroom instruction.