This document discusses student cell phone usage and policies in schools. It notes that most high school and many junior high students have cell phones, which provide internet access outside of school filtering. While most schools prohibit cell phone use, students find ways to text discreetly. The document presents examples of teachers legitimately using cell phones for educational purposes. It advocates for revising restrictive policies to allow cell phone use during passing periods and lunches. Some schools and student groups are campaigning to change prohibitive policies.

1. TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS: TO TEXT
OR NOT TO TEXT
By Donna Tate
For INST 6130

2. STUDENT CELL PHONE USAGE
 The majority of high school students, and
increasing number of junior high school students
have cell phones &/or electronic music devices
such as I-Pods or MP3 players.
 Many of these student cell phones have internet
access that is outside a public school’s filtered and
monitored internet service

3. STUDENT CELL PHONE POLICY
 The majority of school districts have prohibitive
policy regarding student cell phone use during the
school day.
 All school districts have students and parents sign
an Internet Usage Policy of some sort—which may
be limited to the district’s own internet service and
not applicable to student’s cell phone internet.

4. WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY
 Anecdotal evidence
suggests that students
find ways around
prohibitive cell phone
policies
 Girls sit at desks with
their purses in their laps
to have their phones at
their fingertips
 Boys put the phone in a
pants pocket for quick
texting.

5. LEGITIMATE CELL PHONE USE IN CLASS
 Some teachers keep a web page that includes
online homework which students can complete
using their cell phones.
 Students finish class work can use their cell phone to
complete an homework assignment!
 Some teachers allow students to do quick internet
research on their cell phone needed to answer
questions or complete classwork.
 Teachers report that this increases student engagement
and responsibility for learning!

6. LEGITIMATE CELL PHONE USE IN CLASS
 One Biology teacher used a texting lesson to model
DNA translation and transcription.
 Students texted a DNA set to each other
 Errors were discussed from the perspective of genetic
mutations
 The technology was not the lesson, simply a tool of the
lesson.
 Students were observed to be on task and highly
engaged in the lesson.

7. LEAD YOUR SCHOOL (LYS)
 Lead Your School (LYS)
is an educational
consulting organization
that is a proponent of
bootleg technology in the
classroom.
 Their website can be
found at:
http://www.leadyourschoo
l.com/
 Their blog can be found
at:
http://leadyourschool.blog
spot.com/

8. SCHOOLS BRAVE ENOUGH TO TRY
 A few pioneer schools allow students to use cell
phones during passing periods and lunches, such
as Lewiston High School in Lewiston, Maine
(LeBlanc, 2010). Anecdotal results indicate student
discipline violations for electronic devices in
classrooms have fallen now that students have a
time of the school day where electronic devices are
allowed (LeBlanc, 2010).
 LeBlanc, C. (2010, October 10). School
climate, technology, and discipline. Sun Journal.
Retrieved from http://www.sunjournal.com/family-
2010/story/918258

9. STUDENTS CAMPAIGN FOR CELL PHONES IN
SCHOOLS
 Increasing student
organization, student
newspapers are trying
to raise the awareness
level of adults in
schools
(teachers, administrato
rs, etc.) in order to
have student cell http://lahstalon.org/Archived_Issues/
10_11/Issue5.pdf
phone policies revised.

10. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE?
 Check your school’s cell phone usage policy
 Speak to administrators at both the campus and
district levels with the goal of raising awareness at
the futility of a prohibitive policy
 Be sure to stress that using a cell phone for
cheating or plagiarism is never an authorized or
educational use of a student cell phone—meet
them where their first concern is.
 Be persistent! It may take a while for a change to
happen, but it really is only a matter of time as
schools must compete with virtual schools!