Photo: Nathan Lindstrom

Pocket-Sized Revolution

How one district is leveraging smartphones  and other forms of BYOD to disrupt its learning model.


" In fact, a day rarely goes by that the phones-Droid Incredibles, purchased by the school district-aren't incorporated into lessons."

The topic of privacy and school divisions overstepping their legal boundry is a hot and ongoing item.  Here are several more articles on the topic.

Arlington expands social media rules for teachers
Under a new policy, Arlington teachers would have to register social media accounts geared toward instruction — such as a class Facebook page or a Twitter account used for homework reminders — with their principals, who would be allowed to request the account’s password.
In the Digital Age, Welcoming Cell Phones in the Class





Do schools have the right to expel students for tweets?
"The ’automatic tracking system’ the school uses apparently tracks tweets whenever a student logs in to their account. There is a question mark circling around whether the system actually works or not — as the student states his message was sent outside both school grounds and hours."



The implications of schools demanding access to student mobile devices
"As the backlash from the parents of affected students increases, schools are looking for ways that they can legally monitor cyberbullying — which usually takes the form of text messages or communication across social networks."



Amidst a Mobile Revolution in Schools, Will Old Teaching Tactics Work?
“People are talking about this being an inflection point,” said Elliot Soloway. Soloway is a professor at the School of Education at the University of Michigan, and a longtime proponent of mobile learning. “It feels like something major is about to happen. It went from a silly idea, to, ‘Of course it’s inevitable.”

But recently – in the last two or three years – something has changed. Schools seem to be getting over their fears and want to bring the Web and social media and all the attendant digital tools into the classroom. You can see this change reflected in a slew of new Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) across the country that emphasize responsibility over mere acceptance and the implementation of school-wide blogs and even the distribution of smartphones for classroom use.

How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom

"As soon as kids walk in, Musallam sends out a text blast through Remind101, asking them a challenge question that’s related to the day’s lesson. “First person to tell me the units on K for a second order reaction gets chocolate,” he types and sends off. His students know he does this regularly, so they’re constantly anticipating the question during the day, in and out of class."

Good article on "How Americans really use cell phones" CNN

VSTE response to DOE discussions

"The medium is not the issue; in fact, educators should model appropriate digital citizenship when using technology to communicate in appropriate, timely, and powerful ways. VSTE strongly advocates for professional development and training materials to better prepare educators to leverage the technology for positive interactions with students."


http://vsteonline.ning.com/profiles/blogs/vste-responds-to-the-virginia