Schools fight losing battle against cell phones

From: eSchool News
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/around-the-web/index.cfm?i=55302
By Ben Fulton

Primary Topic Channel: Handheld technologies

Salli Robinson was first exposed to cell phones in the classroom when she taught health at Utah State University. Nothing, however, could prepare her for what she saw when she arrived at East High School.

"Students walk down the hall, talk to their friends and text at the same time," said Robinson, a counselor in the Salt Lake City school's GEAR UP program, which prepares high school students for college. "Teachers think they've got a handle on it, but they don't."

Socks and shoes make ideal hiding places for students with cell phones, Robinson said. So does the bend of a knee while sitting in class. Students with music file-equipped phones store them inside baggy coat sleeves, then rest their heads on top of their desks near the phones' speakers.

And don't bother trying to catch students in the act of texting their friends. Most are so agile they can text without looking at the phone, which is hidden under the desk as they look toward the blackboard paying mock attention to what the teacher is saying.

"It's a fact of life," Robinson said. "There's no way you could ban them. It would be too much of a logistical nightmare."

That doesn't mean Utah schools don't try to regulate them.

Approaches vary depending on the school, but in general, most districts allow students to bring phones to school as long as they remain off during class and instruction time, pose no disruption to school operations, and are not used to exploit personal or confedential information. Exceptions are made in cases of family and medical emergencies, but if a student is caught using a phone during class time, it's routinely confiscated and held captive for retrieval by the student's parent or guardian.

Since their arrival in schools, cell phones have been a source of annoyance, concern and even scandal in cases involving a small number of Utah students who've used them to swap nude photos. Students at Weber High School in Ogden rallied their cell phones en masse last week to send enough text messages to a country music station to win a visit from pop star Jessica Simpson, while students from Salt Lake City's Highland High School used a phone to record a fistfight later posted for online viewing.

But while school administrators experience occasional heartburn over how creatively students may use their cell phones, some believe the time has come for teachers and school staff to work with technology used by students, not against it.

At this month's meeting of the Utah Board of Education, board member Teresa Theurer warned fellow board members against restrictions on cell phones that might prove counterproductive as they craft a model policy regarding cell phones in schools. Theurer said her son's English teacher at Logan High School has found ways to incorporate cell phone text messaging and e-mail into lessons and assignments that engage students to a remarkable degree. Assignments are sent as text messages or e-mail attachments, Theurer said. She's also read accounts of teachers who use students' cell phones to "text" a class discussion, rather than discuss a topic in class.

"If you want to get a message to a teenager, you send a text message," Theurer said. "We need to incorporate what's going on in the world. We can't turn our backs on what's happening, because it's not all bad."

Restrictions on their use in schools aren't always consistent, however.

For Heather Angell, a 15-year-old freshman at East, the freedom to answer her phone depends on what class she's in. "I had a huge conversation in interior design," Angell said. "It depends on which teacher you have."

Her friend Lou Williams, also a 15-year-old East freshman, concurs. "If it's an elective class, they [teachers] don't care," she said. "If it's one of your main [academic core] classes, they care."

And cell phone shenanigans still abound. Chris Lessey, a 15-year-old freshman at East, recalled how one student he knows used a cell phone to photograph the posterior of a student-teacher, then used it as a background image on his cell phone.

Using the devices to cheat on exams is another issue. Administrators of college-entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT ban the devices outright in rooms where students take the test. Still, some students say stories of students using their phones to cheat are overblown.

"Nobody I know texts answers," Angell said. "Everyone would think you were a loser. People would delete your number from their phone, hypothetically speaking."

Students said their parents are complicit in keeping devices in the school environment. The convenience of easy communication is too great for discipline. Besides, what parent wouldn't want their child to have one in case of an emergency?

Paul R. Schulte, principal of Salt Lake City's Highland High School, points out the fight recorded by students at his school wielding a cell phone took place off campus. On campus, the school's policy is more successful, with students allowed to use their phones at lunchtime and outside the school only - never in the halls.

"The only thing we haven't seen here is a student who can shoot a basket and text at the same time," Schulte said. "Even that may be coming soon."