If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Due to recent trends in technology advancement, educators have begun to find ways to integrate all forms of technology the best they can. Cell phones are being upgrading every 4 to 6 months and new accessories are being added to them. Cell phones have calculators, internet access, dictionaries, cameras, and instant messaging included. These devices can be integrated into classroom instructions just like computers were integrated decades ago. Here are just a few ideas that can be implemented in schools to help deal with the growing trend of cell phones usage in the classroom. Cell phone calculators can be used in Math classes and will soon take the place of the average calculator used today. Camera phones can be used in science or art classes as a way to enhance achievement through visual learning. Some cell phones have wireless Internet access that can be used to further enhance classroom instruction. Since cell phones are cheaper than computers, students can conduct research using their cell phones instead of buying a computer to surf the internet. Science students might conduct fieldwork and submit their observations or data to via the internet. Literature and English students can benefit from being able to quickly find the definition of a word. Additionally, students who are ESL (English as a Second Language) students especially can benefit from translation dictionaries which are becoming available on cell phones. Perhaps these ideas will be a catalyst to setting new trends in technology usage in schools. Technology is advancing at astronomical rates and new trends and issues will present themselves as the years go by. Throughout public education, there will be new challenges that may help or hurt integration of technology in the future. As new gadgets and devices are developed, new trends will develop and new obstacles will appear. Education will adapt one way or the other and society will always influence the way students, teachers, and administrators react to the new trends in technology.

How student cell phone use during a school crisis can be potentially dangerous.

Today, many students depend on cell phones. Cell phones are used by students to coordinate plans with their friends and family and obtaining rides home from after-school activities. In that context, cell phones most definitely should be available for student use on school property. The question is where and when may they make calls. The smartest move is to let all students keep their phones with them on campus, but to ban cell phone use during school hours. When it comes to school safety, cell phones have been used by students in a number of cases nationwide for calling in bomb threats to schools. These threats have been difficult to trace since they have been made by cell phones. The use of cell phones by students during a bomb threat, and in the presence of an explosive device, also presents a greater risk for potentially detonating the device as public safety officials typically advise school officials not to use cell phones, two-way radios, or similar communications devices during such threats. Also, experience in crisis management has shown us that regular school telephone systems become overloaded with calls during times of crisis. While we do recommend cell phones for school administrators and crisis team members as a crisis management resource tool, it is highly probable that hundreds (if not thousands) of students rushing to use their cell phones in a crisis would also overload the cell phone system and render it useless. Therefore the use of cell phones by students could conceivably decrease, not increase, school safety during a crisis.

When cell phones in schools become a distraction.

Many school districts across the country have adopted student cell phone use polices that will allow cell phones on campus but they cannot be used during instructional hours. The focus on their disruption of the instructional process has become a conflict with cell phones becoming a convenience items over recent years. This trend has been seen throughout school districts in the United States and other Countries. Such devices are more for convenience purposes today than it may have been 10 years ago. Therefore, some school boards have changed policies to avoid parental pressures and school and community politics. Cell phones also present another disruption to the educational environment on a day-to-day basis. Ringing cell phones can disrupt classes and distract students who should be paying attention to their lessons at hand. Text message has been used for cheating. This causes even more problem for teachers that already struggle with classroom management. Now there are new cell phones with cameras that could be used to take photos of exams, take pictures of students changing clothes in gym locker rooms, and take pictures of test questions and answers all together.

How teachers can continue to use technology into thier classroom instruction.

With continuing advances in information technology and demands for more than two million new teachers this decade, there is a clear need for ongoing innovation in integrating technology in teacher education classrooms across the country have at least one computer and more and more classrooms have student and teacher workstations. As a classroom tool, the computer has captured the attention of the education community. This instrument can store, manipulate, and retrieve information, and it has the capability not only of engaging students in classroom activities to increase their learning, but helping solve complex problems to enhance their cognitive skills. Lessons are becoming more and more computer based and students are expected to be computer literate at much younger ages then before. These new and innovative approaches to student learning have and will continue to shape the future of education for decades to come. There are more resources available for students and teachers in specific academic fields. The internet has made it easier for teachers to use outside resources in their classroom instruction instead of old fashioned textbook lesson plan. With vast databases of information and web search engines such as google.com and yahoo.com, teachers and students have more access to academic information than in the past. There are several software companies that have geared their programs toward classroom instruction with pre-written lesson plans, teacher resource links, and student assessment activities already built in and easily assessable with just the click of a button. There are video databases available on websites such as unitedstreaming.com that allow teachers to download instructional videos for use in their classrooms.

How technology in school enhances student achievement.

Teaching and learning strategies have changed over the last few decades. The integration of technology in the average classroom has become more widespread. With continuing advances in information technology and demands for more than two million new teachers this decade, there is a clear need for ongoing innovation in integrating technology in teacher education. Classrooms across the country have at least one computer and more and more classrooms have student and teacher workstations. As a classroom tool, the computer has captured the attention of the education community. This instrument can store, manipulate, and retrieve information, and it has the capability not only of engaging students in classroom activities to increase their learning, but helping solve complex problems to enhance their cognitive skills. Lessons are becoming more and more computer based and students are expected to be computer literate at much younger ages then before. How will these new and innovative approaches to student learning continue to shape the future of education for decades to come?

Should students be allowed to use cell phones in public high schools?

The 21st century has brought many new advances in technology. The more widespread use of computers, cell phones, digital video, and the internet has helped to expand the use of technology in schools, the workplace, and at home. The technology age is upon us and it has started a trend among public and private school sectors worldwide. The trend in the use of technology has helped classroom instruction but to what extent? There are pros and cons to the use of technology in education these days. Recent trends have occurred in the use of technology by students in the classroom. Cell phones have become a new issue that has caused school districts to reevaluate their policy concerning the use of cell phones in class. Many school districts have banned the use of cell phones on school property. But in recent months, that policy has come under review. The policy has changed to coincide with recent trends throughout the country that allow cell phones on school campuses for safety reasons. Several school districts have banned pagers and cell phones starting a decade ago because of their connection to drug and gang activity, as well as due to the disruption to classes. But, parents have began to lobby boards to change policies based on the argument that phones will make students and schools safer in light of emergencies and violence in schools. Should cell phones be allowed in schools for this reason? Can they be integrated into classroom learning? Will they cause more harm then good if students are allowed to use them in public schools?