The Harvest Glenn School District's   Acceptable Use Policy strictly prohibits the use of cell (mobile) phones on campus.  Recently, during a World Languages lesson at one of the high schools, students asked the teacher how to translate a specific word into Spanish. The teacher did not know the Spanish translation, and he then asked the students who had Web-enabled cell phones with them to pull them out. He demonstrated how the students could easily get the translation by texting Google. The class found the answer nearly instantly: a great example of utilizing a 21st Century tool to solve a problem in real-time.  

At the same time, other teachers are complaining about the number of student cell phones in the building and the faculty council is expressing concerns about text cheating in the classroom.  Given both scenarios, what might be a reasonable response both short-term and long-term?

Group Participants:

Questions To Answer

1. What is one way to address the problem posed in the scenario, and what are the next steps?

 There are several issues with cell phones:

1. Cameras in phones can be used to take pictures of tests which can be sent to students in other (later) sections of the same course. Or students can text questions to friends.

SOLUTION: Get away from tests/assessments that are so right/wrong oriented that prior knowledge of questions is a short-term advantage.

2. Higher order phones can be used to access information during assessment/testing.

SOLUTION: Encourage students to access information, but allow students without phones to use notes or other forms of information.

3. Phones can be a distraction, either by ringing during class, or by students texting friends during class.

SOLUTION: Make lessons more engaging so students aren't tempted to be distracted.

(John K)

2. What leadership skills are most necessary to tackle these problems?

3. How do you provide equitable experiences for students across all buildings?