Techlearning blog

Good practice guidelines fall naturally into 3 parts:

a) School-oriented use of cell phones
b) safety guidelines
c) etiquette

School-oriented use of cell phones
There are already applications which make cell phones potentially useful in schools. Schools might consider making it possible for students to use certain features as part of their schooling.

* MP3 capability. Why not have a store of podcasts that students can download onto their phones?

* Diary. It should not be rocket science for the school to set up (or have set up) a means whereby assignment deadlines may be downloaded into or synchronised with students' cell phones.

* Calculator. As far as I know just about every cell phone has a calculator built in.

* Camera. I have already written about using a cell phone for taking photos, and National Geographic's "Guide to Digital Photography" contains a section entitled "12 ways to use your camera phone".

* It may be commonplace in the future to use cell phones for assessing students. See details of the e-viva project, for example.

* Social networks based on the cell phone like Cellphedia could be used, for example to exchange views with students in other countries and to get details of places of interest.

* Text-messaging services
A number of services are now available whereby parents are alerted if their child hasn't turned up at school. Schools can also send out SMS messages to students, perhaps reminding them of impending examinations, timetable changes, or warnings about safety on their way to school.

Safety guidelines
Safety is a real issue in the UK at the moment, with children being mugged -- by other children and young people -- for their cell phones. Schools should consider giving out good practice guidelines, including obvious things like "Don't use your phone in public unless absolutely necessary". Why not? Because apart from demonstrating to any would-be mugger that you have a cell phone, people who talk on phones whilst walking tend to be in a low state of alertness as far as potential danger is concerned.

Schools might consider buying banks of (inexpensive) cell phones for school use, although this is probably not financially viable at present.

Schools would need to consider limiting the use made of cell phones because of fears over the possible effects of radiation.

Why not take part in the Technology & Learning poll? Question of the week is about cell phone use:

http://www.techlearning.com/instantpoll/