PA Lawmakers Preparing to Ban Cellphones in K12: Help Stop the Madness!!

Elliot: You are not going to believe this one… well, yes, sadly, you will. On Feb 11, 2009 ten (Dems and Repubs) PA state representatives have proposed a bill that would ban cellphones from schools! See http://tinyurl.com/dfk6ge, PA House Bill 363.

Representative Cruz (Philadelphia) said: “Cell phones have no place in a classroom because they are a nuisance, especially when they go off in class and disrupt the work of our teachers…. Also, cell phones, camera phones and other devices that can record audio or video are being used by students to cheat on tests and violate other school policies.” (search for Cruz on http://tinyurl.com/chuvwz )

Cathie: It’s worse than you think; read the bill carefully:“The possession by students of telephone paging devices, commonly referred to as beepers, cellular telephones and portable electronic devices that record or play audio or video material shall be prohibited…." This bill bans computers from the classroom!

Elliot: Politicians! Bah!! They banned books, that didn't work. They clearly didn't think through this bill and rushed....

Cathie: Relax; take a breath; no need to preach to the choir… (Are we preaching to the choir? Chime in here, please!)

Elliot: Ok, Ok…. But politicians are not educators and they have no business…..

Cathie: You are not relaxing... Cellphones can cause problems in the classroom as Cruz points out. And, in PA there have been some incidents of “sexting” where minors are sending nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves to their boy/girl friends.

Elliot: Schools can deal with this issue, as another teacher points out: “…banning them wholesale is not the answer. This bill implies that the problem is with the technology itself, rather than the inappropriate use of it. Teaching safe, appropriate use and integrating technological tools into well-constructed lessons will ultimately serve our children better.” Damian N. Bariexca, http://tinyurl.com/b3gqmu

Cathie: Fortunately, there are educators in the great state of Pennsylvania who are against this bill:”…. but as an educator, I have a responsibility to provide the best education to each and every student. If I were to restrict their learning environment, I would be cheating them out of their future and limiting their potential.” James Lamb, Jr. See more comments on the Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/b3gqmu

Elliot: Folks from Pennsylvania – make your rational voice heard. Go to http://www.petitiononline.com/HB363/petition.html- and sign a petition. As of 2/14/09 at 6:36pm, there are 194 signatories.

There is a list of websites about cellphones in the classroom in Mr. Bariexca’s (http://tinyurl.com/b3gqmu ) comments that are an excellent source of information. Highly recommended!

In particular, Liz Kolb’s blog (www.cellphonesinlearning.com) is a wealth of thought-provoking information about the use of cellphone computers in K12. Her book “Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education” recently published by ISTE, provides an excellent overview of what is going on with cellphones in K12 classrooms (http://www.iste.org/source/Orders/isteProductDetail.cfm?product_code=toytul).

Cathie: Let’s turn a bug into a feature – this bill is an opportunity for people to think through the value of cellphone computers, as we call them, for K12 and then join together to act and defeat what is clearly a misguided bill. There’s plenty of space on this website for YOUR comments – start typing, please!

Comments

[Luis J Hernandez]

Ever since the iPhone came out I was very interested in the educational possibilities of such a device. Being able to basically have a scaled down computer with the capabilities and portability of a mobile phone is opening a whole new world of possibilities in mobile learning. Having a mobile phone that runs an operative system along with a proximity sensor, large Multi-Touch touchscreen display that lets you control everything using only your fingers, EDGE network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS letting you to communicate with the “cloud” and/or between devices, an accelerometer that detects when you rotate iPhone from portrait to landscape, creates fertile ground for exploration and creation of educational applications. These applications will be the kind of applications that could change completely the way we interact with knowledge, and also how we interact with others to construct new knowledge. I also think that eventually it will be hard to tell between a computer and a portable communication device. Not so far into the future, a fully functional computer would be in the size of a hand held organizer or even smaller. Without doubt, educational institutions need to be open-minded and start exploring all the possibilities and benefits that this kind of technology is bringing to the table.

[Elliot Soloway]

Thank you for your thoughtful and thought-provoking post, Luis! As you point out, the iPhone is a computer in your hand – something that we literally haven’t had before – and something that K12 education needs to exploit. How does one use a GPS and an accelerometer for curricular purposes? Interestingly, that question excites some and, sadly, frightens others. “Fertile ground” – well spoken!

[Kevin Hughes]

Hey folks in my mind there is no question this bill goes way too far. If this passes the school that I teach in will likely ban cellphones for teachers as well. I can't believe that their motivation is to help. Is there no possibility of a state mandated consequence for inappropriate use? Our country is already falling behind technologically as far as preparing our students is concerned. This sounds like a typical reactionary consequence rather thatn demand appropriate use we will just take it away.

[Elliot Soloway]

You are right, Kevin… teachers’ cellphones will probably be banned too. And teachers’ computers since they can “record audio or video.” The law is way too broad – besides being wrong-headed! Might you send your state legislator an email telling him/her to just say no? Perhaps, informing your colleagues at school and asking them to write to the legislator might help. Thanks for your comment! May the great state of PA see the light and join the 21st century!!