Cell Phones in the Classroom?

I used to be strongly against the use of cell phones in the classroom, but like some others in this class, I have changed my mind.  The educational benefits that could come from the devices outweigh the challenges.  It is very hard to explore this issue in my district because we have a strict out of sight/turned of f policy.  The interview I did for this class also greatly opened my eyes to the educational opportunity my district is missing out on. The teacher I interviewed also gave me a PowerPoint presentation and her own school policy that outlines the benefits of cell phones in the classroom. I will post both when I finish the interview summary on my blog. The one feature I would love to take advantage of using cell phones as a student responder. It would be so much easier to have the students use text messages to have an instant gage on student understanding. Students also can use the cell phones to take notes, and to use educational applications. The students could also use the cell phones for research.  Right now I have to try to get the one laptop cart for my entire school to do research in my classroom. It is hard and has to be scheduled weeks in advance. The use of cell phones would allow me to do more interactive and research based activities. 

While I see the benefits of cell phones, there are some challenges that teachers have to overcome.  I believe that the classroom teacher has to outline specific rules regarding the use of cell phones in the class.  If my school district's policy allowed the use of cell phones, I would have to outline my expectations clearly to my students.  They would only be allowed to take out their phones when we were doing specific activities. They shouldn't have the cell phone out anytime they wanted to.  The phone would have to be out of sight and silent if they are not needed for academic purposes. I would not allow the use of them during tests. I believe it is up to the teacher to set the expectations and boundaries with cell phones in their specific classes. If the students take advantage of the classroom policy, they should lose the privilege of using the cell phones for a period of time.  

Students today are very technologically savvy. I believe they would LOVE to use their cell phones as an educational tool.  When I introduced edmodo to my classroom, my students came in the next day and were so happy to tell me that there was 'an app for that' on their phones.  It is a shame that some school districts try to ignore this potential educational tool instead of embracing it.  It will have its challenges and problems, but what school doesn't? We constantly have to adapt to the changing needs of our students. Its a fact of life being a school teacher, so why not embrace this challenge and turn it into a valuable teaching tool?