Monday
September 08, 2008
by desertjim
Current figures indicate that 75% of 13 to 17 year olds in the United States have cell phones. Wireless companies are now working to have the same percentage of 8 to 12 year olds enter the ranks of the electronically connected. Even my 10 year old grand-daughter carries her very own cell phone in her backpack (restricted by her parents to calling 911, her paretns at work and home). More of our students have cell phones than have computer access. At the college level Abilene Christian University will hand out iPhones to two-thirds of this year’s entering class of freshmen . Students and instructors are expected to use the devices in class to take attendance, get virtual handouts and brainstorm ideas.
There is no question that cell phones are already distractions in classrooms at all levels. Text-messaging makes it possible for students to exchange answers during exams. The ability of the phones to serve as game platforms goes way beyond the old-fashioned problem of a couple of kids playing “dots” or tic-tac-toe in the back of the room. My physics teacher son-in-law and his colleagues have discussed buying a cell phone blocker and moving it randomly from classroom to classroom. (Alas, the current devices are still a bit too large to place inobtrusively on a restaurant table.)
As cell phone technology becomes more and more ubiquitous, schools will have to adjust their rules to keep pace. Many already have. I am curious to know what our readers’ schools have done to keep the presence of cell phones and their abilities to serve as cameras, games or text-messagers from disrupting or distracting from classroom activities. Is anyone else adopting the Abilene Christian University model and trying to co-opt the technology into becoming a teaching tool?
Labels:
