The average American teen texts a lot: 3,339 messages per month, according to a recent Nielsen survey. That's more than 130 of them a day, everyday or a text every 10 minutes, almost around the clock. However one looks at it, cell phones have revolutionized the way kids communicate. How should teachers respond? Historian Niall Ferguson's opinion piece in "Newsweek," "Texting Makes U Stupid," exemplifies the general line of attack: Teens who text do not read books, he asserts. Such attacks are easy to find--perhaps because they're easy to write. They are not based on research. In fact, if one looks at studies on texting, a different conclusion emerges: Texting increases literacy, and it improves, of all things, spelling. This article offers tips on how to incorporate texting into one's lessons.