Cellphones teach phonics, animation and more in school instead of cheating
NEW YORK -- Smart phones now have hundreds of applications meant to educate kids — from graphic calculators to animation programs that teach spelling and phonics.
And while most public schools don't allow the devices because they're considered distractions — and sometimes portable cheating tools — some school districts have started to put the technology to use.
The key, educators say, is controlling the environment in which they are used.
In St. Mary's, Ohio, a school district of 2,300 students is continuing a pilot program where third-, fourth- and fifth-graders are assigned PDAs for use as a learning tool in the classroom, and at home. They use applications created by a company called Go Know! to draw pictures and create sketches, journal and write essays, said Kyle Menchhofer, the district's technology coordinator. Other applications create flash cards for spelling and math.
Students took the phones on a museum field trip where they took photos, uploaded them to a server where the teacher could view the assignment and wrote blurbs about what they saw.
In addition to the applications that students use, having the PDA teaches them responsibility, he said.
"Cellphones aren't going away. Mobile technology isn't going away," he said. "Right now, what we're telling kids is 'You go home and use whatever technology you want, but when you get to school, we're going to ask you to step back in time.' It doesn't make any sense," he said.
The district started the program last school year with $40,000 and 60 Palm personal data devices that were handed out to students. Menchhofer said teachers who used to wait weeks to use computer labs were now able to use technology right in their classrooms — and students love it.
But there are many questions districts face before opening the door to allow cellphones: If children had their own, fancier phones, would they be allowed those instead of school-issued devices? How would they fund PDAs in larger districts?
