Cell phones in school

In the Netherlands, school children are urged to keep their cell phones on.  Yes, on, not off.

So says Gareth Mitchell, one of the world's leading technology reporters and presenter of BBC "Digital Planet" show, speaking in an intimate fireside chat following his big keynote address before 775 attendees at the LERN annual conference in Chicago last month.

LERN's Julie Coates compared this to U.S. teachers and schools, where cell phones must be turned off, or not even allowed in the classroom.  It represents the huge disparity between backward looking educators in the U.S. and forward looking educators in the Netherlands.

THE REASON: So students can use the web as a learning resource while in the classroom. What do you think? Should students in the U.S. be encouraged to keep their cell phones on?

Comments

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[billy]

i think thsat we should have cell phones in our school cuz a lot of kids in school like to call people like at lunch and stufe but you cant do t hat now cuz they well take your phone away sooooo......... you know do what you got to do and so yeah

[John]

Some students acknowledge problems caused by some students with the inappropriate use of a cell phone. However, they contend that the majority of students use the cell phone constructively while obeying all school rules.

[Terry Newman]

What about those students who don't have phones with internet access and capability. Does that leave them out of the learning process. I think its a great tool to use but I'm worried about kids from poor families who will be shut out in one more way.