You won't find Willyn Webb telling her high school students to put away their cell phones, even though they are technically banned in her Colorado district. She's been using cell phones to augment her lessons at Delta County Opportunity School for years.
Cell Phones Can Detract From School Safety & Crisis Preparedness Cell phones have been used for calling in bomb threats to schools and, in many communities, cell calls cannot be traced by public safety officials. Student use of cell phones could potentially detonate a real bomb if one is actually on campus.
There has recently been a great deal of interest in the issue of whether or not mobile phones have potential to enhance or hinder learning. Numerous studies have been undertaken into the potential that m-learning has. These have been met with an equal number of rebuffals from sceptics who point out the negative impact of mobile phones in the classroom.
By CNN correspondent Deborah Feyerick with senior producer Dana Garrett (CNN) - When seventh grader Cayleb Coyne wants to send a text in class, he slips his cell phone into his backpack and pretends to be looking for a piece of paper. Texting between classes has an added benefit.
At our high school, we recently reexamined our electronic use policy. In conversations during the summer, the assistant principals and I agreed that enforcing our current policy of no electronic devices during the school day was inconsistent with societal norms. So in the opening days of this school year, we asked our students to use their cell phones and other devices responsibly.
Cell-phone use is becoming more and more common among students. According to CTIA-The Wireless Association, 79% of teenagers (about 17 million) have a mobile device.