Pros

Reasons for allowing: If someone could't attend a college because of a tight budget,online school networks or cyber schools, like education connection, could be cheaper and even be a better resource of their knowledge. -The Flickering Mind Saving Education from the False Promise of technology, By Todd Oppenheimer

Why Cell Phones Are Important in Learning:
 * //Class time is precious//. Cell phones can help teachers increase the amount of class time spent on teaching and learning. Because most students already know how to use a cell phone (often times better than teachers) there is no need to teach kids how to use new instructional hardware and software. Also integrating cell phones into learning means that technology based activities can occur outside the classroom.
 * //Cell phones can save money//. The majority of students own cell phones. 98% in grades 9th to 12th, 83% of 6th to 8th, and 43% of 2nd to 5th graders. If schools allow students to use there technological devices in the classroom they will have the benefit of technology without having to buy it themselves. If students do not own a cell phone many cell phone activities can also be done over a land line(with a toll-free number) or via the internet.
 * //Students love them//. It's indisputable that students are incredibly fond of their cell phones. Most cell phone users never leave home without them. If teachers integrate cell phones into learning students can get more engaged in classroom content.
 * //Cell phones facilitate learning anytime, anywhere, from any source at any pace//. Twenty-first century student don't want learning to be confined to a classroom or even a library. They want to be able to access information anytime (2 a.m.) anywhere(even at the mall) from any source and at their own pace. A cell phone lends itself to this type of learning. With it students can connect to the Internet while waiting in line, document current events while those events are happening, or text message others within their learning group about a project on the go.
 * //Students need preparation for 21st century jobs//. The abilities to text message, take mobile photos and videos, and connect to the Internet by cell phone will almost certainly be required for many future jobs. Although students already know how to do many of these activities, they don't understand how these abilities will be able to help with a future job. If schools model how to use cell phones to organize, network, schedule, and gather data, students may see their phone as a tool and not as a toy.
 * //Students need to learn mobile etiquette and safety.// 52 percent of 10-17-year-olds who use cell phones say they send text messages while watching a movie in the theater; 28 percent send messages at the dinner table. Additionally, students often do not understand the repercussions of sending potentially embarrassing text messages(which can be retrieved by phone companies) ;using inappropriate chat language; or publishing mobile media on the Internet without permission. Cell phone instructional activities give educators the opportunity to talk with their students about mobile etiquette.
 * //Mobile phones can empower students who are visually or hearing impaired.// For example, by coupling the phones with websites like Dial2Do, students who are visually impaired can send speech-to-text e-mails, blog posts, tweets, reminders, posts on a Google calendar, and so on. In addition, these students can listen to podcasts, web pages, e-mails, or google calendar posts. With Dial2Do, students students who are hearing impaired can take advantage of text-messaging features to participate in activities that normally require oral communication- they can use sites like Google Voice to view text transcripts of voice-mail messages.

__The Do-It-Yourself Approach:__ At New Canaan High School in Connecticut, students are permitted to bring their own handheld devices. "With the economy plummeting, this is the first time in my 28 years that we have more students in class than laptops on carts" says Cathy Swan, technology integration specialist. "It's great when a kid can supplement the cart". At this particular high school they allow students to "Bring your own device" (BOYD). If a students takes an electronic device to school like a laptop, smartphone, or iPad a student can enter a MAC address into one of these devices the equipment is enabled to Internet access. Students can fill out a form on a classroom laptop or on a computer in the library. Every week, the technology staff updates the list and adds the new devices to the network.

__Making a Public, Filtered Wi-Fi:__ Over at the Katy (Texas) ISD, content is not a concern, because the district has been preparing for BYOD in a number of ways. Two years ago, when the tech staff handed out mobile phones to fifth graders for a pilot project, they saw incredible instructional results, says Lenny Schad, chief information officer. Security was a nonissue, because Schad creates a public Wi-Fi at the elementary school that was filtered the same way the wired network was. The Katy ISD has now distributed 1,500 mobile-learning devices to all the fifth graders at its 11 elementary campuses, and there is public Wi-Fi on 12 campuses. When children take their school supplied mobile devices home, they connect to the Verizon network. These devices can connect to only that network or the Katy Wi-Fi network. Both networks filter Internet access through the districts filtering system, which protects students from going to inappropriate Web sites. This two-year program has laid the foundation for next year, when every campus will have a filtered public Wi-Fi ad the school district will allow kids to BYOD to school. In terms of curriculum, the Katy ISD has focused for the past couple of years on helping teachers integrate Web 2.0 tools in curriculum; already most are comfortable teaching this way. "It's an important thing people need to realize," Schad says. "If you haven't prepared your teachers for what to do

**It is quite easy to create a link to an audio or video file. The problem is that these files are generally quite large and can take several minutes to download and play. For example, a 1-MB file that plays a 20 second video clip can take more than 10 minutes to download on a computer. A solution would be to use an iPod touch or a phone, which takes much less time to download files even ten times that size.** **~ Barron, Ann E. and Karen S. Ivers. __The Internet and Instruction, Activities and Ideas, Second Edition.__ Englewood: Libraries Unlimited Inc. Page number 31.**

**If you have a fast connection, it is possible to participate in limited audio conferencing; the Internet equivalent of a telephone call. Audio conferencing could be accessed through iPod touches or even Multimedia phones or Smartphones.** **~ Barron, Ann E. and Karen S. Ivers. __The Internet and Instruction, Activities and Ideas, Second Edition.__ Englewood: Libraries Unlimited Inc.** **Page number 33.**


 * 10 Reasons Cell Phones Should Be Allowed In Schools **

So, thinking through, here are 10 reasons I think cell phones should be allowed in schools.  > > They are NEARLY ubiquitous and can alleviate some of the strain and cost of our infrastructure.
 * 1) ** Cell Phones Can Save Us Money **

> > Most students WILL NOT carry a paper planner. We need to integrate their cell phones and/or iTouch devices as their planner - giving them homework reminders, letting them poll, podcast, vodcast, blog, and study using these mobile devices. They have them with them ALL of the time which make is perfect for using as a planner. When I took the Franklin Covey planning course, rule number 1 was "Always have your planner with you." Kids can be reminded of things from their Google Calendar, which integrates with the calendar I use for planning.
 * 1) ** Cell Phones Can Help Students Be More Organized **

> > Because of safety issues, I think that eventually someone will have a legal liability because a student was in trouble and WAS NOT able to use their cell phone. I think that schools should all have SMS notification services in the case of emergency and that it is a vital lifeline for safety.
 * 1) ** It Makes Kids More Safe **

> I have a real problem with kids names being called over the loud speaker for detention or even to come to the office. This is private. I think that a text message from the front office preceding such a thing is a lot more respectful and would probably get them there faster.
 * 1) ** It Allows Sensitive Issues to be Kept Private **

> Cell phones are a separate network and thus do not go over the local wireless. Their effective use can provide an alternative method of accessing the Internet and/or querying short bits of information.
 * 1) ** It Alleviates Strain on the Network. **

> Cell phone troubleshooting is not something that is needed. If a child has problems, let them use a laptop, check out an itouch from the library or use a computer. However, the use of cell phones for small queries and tasks alleviates the use of computers for small tasks.
 * 1) ** It Alleviates Strain in the IT Department **

> If you do not have to turn on cell phone - there is zero boot time. If you DO have to turn it on, you're looking at 3-4 seconds. Time your laptop's boot time. I have a PC and it takes at least 3 minutes to be functional. I find it is much easier to have my students define words and query google with a text message.
 * 1) ** It Speeds Up Information Retrieval **

> I was at Disney and a child was lost. He knew his phone number but NOT his area code. I found the area code using Google search and we had Mommy there within moments. Kids should KNOW how to retrieve information easily from SMS. Additionally, self control about texting is a PROVEN problem for many kids. Learning the self discipline to use this tool when appropriate is part of life. By allowing them to be present and NOT used - we're letting kids learn the self discipline to focus and use the tool when appropriate. > > I believe in allowing distractions in my classroom and coaching the kids to focus. I think this is much better than the "police state" type filtration and technology policies that many schools have. > > I would like to say that by "outlawing" cell phones we've pushed them into the private places of the school like the bathrooms and locker rooms which is precisely where we DO NOT want them to be! (See the rule listed below.)
 * 1) It Allows Us to Teach Kids Digital Responsibility and Citizenship

> > In Hall Davidson's speech, he mentioned that Cuba finally allowed cell phone use in their country last year. The only remaining places that ban cell phones? The Taliban and Schools are the only two entities that now ban them in the world. > > This is a useful tool and part of life. Hall also mentioned how in the 1970's that calculators were banned. Now, we use them. It is time to "get over it" and "coexist with it."
 * 1) It Sets a Model for Effective Change and Innovation

> > Many educators are seeing that truly, banning cell phones is not a battle that is going to be won. I think that parents are going to demand that it be on their child for safety reasons. The chaparone feature lets the parents use GPS to know where their child is at all times. This is something parents are going to demand, that it be on their child and ON. I just think it is moving to this.
 * 1) You're fighting a losing battle.

**http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/03/making-case-for-cell-phones-in-schools.html**