Cell phones in Education- Helium Debate October 4, 2009

I feel that cell phones should not be banned in schools. Like any piece of technology, there are positive and negative aspects to its use. A parent's first choice for providing their children with a cell phone has usually been for safety. It gave the parent a sense of calm knowing that their child had a means to contact them at any given time, especially in an emergency situation. In these times of hectic schedules and long hours, the cell phone is frequently deemed a necessity in coordinating the lives of families. Under these circumstances, cell phones should definitely be allowed in schools.
What about other circumstances? What could be seen as an accepted use of the cell phone in school? What about using the cell phone as part of the school lesson? Why can't one of the easiest computers available to students be a regular part of their day? As a presence in the school day, educators have often seen the cell phone as a distraction. Teachers and school administrators should not ban this tool, but embrace it. If we take the device and turn it toward educational purposes, students will begin to see it as more than just another technology toy. Marc Prensky said in his article, "What Can You Learn From a Cell Phone" (2004), "given the opportunity, we can be certain that students, as they have been doing with all useful digital technology, will quickly embrace and use the tool and make it their own in various unexpected ways." Those in education must do as we have always done and guide our students in appropriate ways to use that technology.
There are many ways a teachers can incorporate cell phones into the lesson. Even elementary students, who may not have advanced smartphones, can be involved by using the common applications available on most cell phones, such as camera, calendar and voice recorder. Students can use the camera to take pictures for an assignment, use the phone memos and calendar as a planner, or voice record assignments, and use of the calculator. These are very simple tasks that do not require phones with every application. There are a variety of additional, simple ways to use cell phones in the class room without being a distraction that so many fear it to be. From sending pictures to Flickr and creating podcasts, students can share content with their class and others around the world. Encouraging students to create and share gives them ownership in their learning.
Using cell phones in the classroom is just taking advantage of a technology that our students already love and feel comfortable using. They have embraced this technology and use already use it for these purposes outside of school, why not make it tool for learning?

Resources:
LaMontagne, J. (2009) Please turn on your cell phone. Retrieved October 4, 2009 from http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=10277
Prensky, M. (2004) What can you do with a cell phone? Retrieved October 4, 2009 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-What_Can_You_Learn_From_a_Cell_Phone-FINAL.pdf
 VanDrimmelen, J. (2007) 8 Ways to use camera phones in education. Retrieved October 4, 2009 from http://edutechie.com/2007/06/8-ways-to-use-camera-phones-in-education/