While most schools have a strict “No Electronics” policy, stating that they’ll confiscate any electronic device that they see a student using, there are a few brave schools out there that are trying something different. Recognizing that the cell phone has become much more than just a telephone, they are encouraging students to use them in the classroom.
This doesn’t mean they’re allowing students to ignore their teachers in order to talk to and text their friends. Instead, these schools may have found a way to keep their students from wasting time on their cell phones.
G4 cell phones have become information centers; combining Internet access, applications, and rapid communications. While there are many apps for fun, there are also apps which can be used to promote learning. These schools are counting on the students using their phones to connect to the Internet, search out information they need, and even to text both questions and answers to their teacher.
There are strict rules in place for when and how the students may use their phones; starting with making them keep the phone on their desktop. That’s much better than them having it in their lap, texting their friends, instead of listening to their teacher. While still experimental, these schools are finding that they can control cell phone use much better when the students are actively using their phones as part of their classes.
We must realize that to the children of today, their cell phone has become the center of the way they that they interface with the world. There’s no way that they are going to leave it at home, just because the school tells them to. Nor are they going to leave it in their pocket, feeling it vibrate. If they are going to interface with the world through their cell phone, we must put that to work for improving their education.