iPods, Cellphones, PDAs, etc.

Administrators always seem to pose policy questions in terms of being more restrictive or less restrictive. Portable media devices and their accompanying policies are no exception. But the fact of the matter is that ever since the dawn of the boombox, kids have had these devices in schools. I think the major difference here is size. A walkman or CD player is much easier to spot with huge, old-school headphones. Nowadays, iPods come smaller than ever with headphones that slip right in the ear. Throughout my high school career as these portable media devices began to appear everywhere and diversify constantly, it felt like the school administration was reacting to these devices out of fear more than educational interest. During a long final exam period I had my CD player with me and I was playing classical music to help me concentrate during the exam. I always perform better with light classical music behind me. Of course I had them taken away. Not because I could have been cheating on the test - which was impossible to do, not because I was distracting other students - and I was not, not because of any educational reason; but, they were taken away simply because I was not "supposed" to have it even though there was no written policy in effect at the time. In my policy I would have no problem with a student using a media player during an exam as long as I approve that it is in fact being used for that purpose - as opposed to cheating - and as long as the device is not causing a distraction to other students. Overall, my take on this issue may be considered radically different from what I experienced.

We should not be worried about being more or less restrictive. We need to be thinking about these devices from an educational viewpoint. First, the most obvious, if a student is using any such device during a lecture and is causing a distraction for themselves or for the students around them, the device needs to be either put away or taken away until the end of class. It is the same idea as two students who cannot keep quiet in the classroom during class. We also need to capitalize on the educational potential of these devices. Today, many cell phones, and PDAs can perform similar functions. I recently read an article about a school that uses cell phones and PDAs in classroom instruction. For example, the teacher during lecture can pose a question at the students and have students input their responses using these devices and display the results on the board. Teachers are able to ensure that every student participates and supplies an answer. This is much more effective than traditional methods where one student - usually the same student through time - raises a hand and answers the question. For other students who usually do not like to participate or do not like to go out on a limb and be wrong when answering a complex question, they have the chance to submit their answer anonymously and gain so much more from the instruction.

My proposed policy is two-fold. It puts responsibility on the teachers and administration not only to prevent distractions due to the use of these devices, but to begin designing learning environments(where possible) that capitalize on the educational benefits of these devices. These devices would be permitted in the school and in the classroom with the following conditions. During class, a student may only use such devices when directed by the teacher. If a student is caught using a device when not appropriate or if the student is distracting other students, a student will be asked to put the device away and in subsequent offenses the device will be taken away and held by the teacher until the end of the class period. Teachers and Administration will design learning environments, where possible, that will employ the use of such devices in an educationally appropriate manor that is beneficial to learners.