Policies

Greg Rien, Cindy Walters, Roger Whaley

"4A - Greg Rien, Cindy Walters (Research current thinking in regard to school technology policies as well as what those policies look like) Roger Whaley (look at both national and state standards for technology education)"

I did a quick survey of State Departments of Education and put a link to their Ed tech departments in this map... It is a PDF with links embedded, just click on a state's letters: [|http://home.mchsi.com/~r.m.e.m.whaley/State_Ed_Tech_Departments.pdf]

We should looking at all school technology policies; i.e. cell phone, iPod, etc. I know that the look of the policy could change depending on which technology we are talking about, especially since they are getting to be so much alike...iPod phone, what next?

According the the American School Board Journal this is what is recommended to school districts when setting policies on cell phones: [|American School Board Journal] However, this does not look at the positive uses for cell phones educationally, only the negative repercussions. PBS has a blogging web site which expresses more questions regarding the policies for cell phone use [|PBS Teachers: Learning.now]. You will notice the many different opinions. It appears that most educators are in favor of the all out ban on cell phones being seen in schools as the negative repercussions outweigh any positive benefits in their opinion.
 * REGARDING CELL PHONES:**

T.H.E. Journal - Speak Up Survey: Is Technology Missing the Mark?
by Dave Nagel - 3/22/2007 Some of the 2006 Speak Up findings include: Details from the survey are available on a school by school basis on Project Tomorrow's website. See the link below. In the research I found regarding technology policies for K-12 education, one thing is clear...there is no standard answer to what a policy should look like. Some schools are embracing technology and their policies reflect that fact; others are fearful of it and their policies reflect that! One thing is certain, however, school policies will need to be looked at constantly and updated to meet the needs of the students, schools, staff and community.
 * More than 66 percent of parents and teachers are "increasingly concerned with" privacy and online safety issues;
 * Twenty-five percent of students are concerned about safety and privacy issues;
 * Fifty-four percent of students surveyed are "increasingly establishing connections" with students outside their immediate geographical location through IM, e-mail, gaming, and personal websites;
 * Students cite cell phones as their favorite means of communication, and 66 percent of parents and students said that students should be able to bring cell phones to school for emergency purposes; and
 * Forty-one percent of parents and 71 percent of teachers favor e-mail and school websites as means of communications.
 * Read More:**
 * [|Project Tomorrow]
 * [|Speak Up Survey Data]

Has anybody found any educational uses for a cell phone yet? Policies at my school seems to be more concerned with students not hanging on to their devices. Back a couple of years ago, staff was expected to take the device to to the office. There are so many in the building now that has become impractical. Same with iPods (but it is much easier to make the case for these devices having educational uses.). I suppose it is the school's version of Dr. Mcleod's "Shock and Awe" metaphor!

ISTE is revising their standards. They seem to be looking at student expectations this time, with an eye towards globalizaion. You may have to register with Education Week for a look at this article: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/14/27tech-1.h26.html

Schools Dial Up Cell-Phone Content By Cara Branigan, Associate Editor, eSchool News

October 20, 2004—As more and more teenagers own cell phones, a small number of schools are making the most of the devices' popularity by finding legitimate educational and instructional uses for them. Twenty-five schools in New Hampshire are encouraging their students who own web-enabled cell phones to use them to access homework, class assignments, and other content. "It allows cell phones to be viewed more as educational tools than simply for recreational use," said Nick Rago, director of HomeWorkNow.com, a homework-management web site that recently began allowing students to access its content via web-enabled cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Cell phones are one of most ubiquitous portable technology devices available to students. According to NetDay's "Speak Up Day for Students 2003" survey, 70 percent of students in grades 6-12 and 61 percent of students in grades 3-6 said they use a cell phone either in school or during their free time. Nearly two-thirds of the teachers at Exeter High School in New Hampshire post homework and class assignments for their students each day on HomeWorkNow.com, and with the site's new accessibility, teachers now encourage students to check the site via their cell phones. Like many schools, Exeter has adopted an "as long as I don't see or hear it" policy regarding cell-phone use during school hours. Because of the no-cell-phone rule, Exeter students can't access their homework assignments on their phones during the day--but after school, when they are at part-time jobs or riding the school bus, it's not a problem. "Students are pretty busy, and this allows them to retrieve their homework pretty quickly," said Ellen Johnson, a Spanish teacher and advisor to the world languages department at Exeter High School. Only two months into the school year, accessing HomeWorkNow.com seems to be popular among students. "Just from my personal account from my Spanish students, I've received more than 1,000 hits," Johnson said. outlines and vocabulary flash cards. Parents can check project due dates, and students who have multiple teachers posting to HomeWorkNow.com can check for homework assignments for more than one class. With more ways to access their assignments, students have fewer excuses when they don't complete their homework. "Students would forget to copy it down, or students wouldn't be listening at the end of class because they were thinking of lunch or getting home," Johnson said. The cell-phone version of HomeWorkNow.com offers fewer search capabilities than what's available through a computer. "There are fewer features, and it's more of a limitation of what the phones can do," Rago said. "It's the same content minus the interactive [stuff]." HomeWorkNow.com, which costs $175 a year per school for up to 75 teachers, also lets teachers post links, images, and video. "On the cell phone, everything is converted to text," Rago said. "[It's more of] a reference tool. Quickly, I want to see: Did I have homework today, and when is that test scheduled?"

Navigating to the HomeWorkNow.com site via cell phone is a bit of a challenge, Rago said: "Right now, it is a little tricky, if you've ever typed in a URL over a phone." Most cell-phone plans get around this difficulty by creating easy-to-navigate web links that are organized by categories. But to the surprise of Andy Lutz, vice president of program development for The Princeton Review, no education category exists so far. "I was just stunned. When you go to the cell phone, there's virtually no education content." The Princeton Review just launched an SAT prep tool that is delivered to students via their cell phones. "I don't think anyone is going to sit and stare into their cell phone for three hours and read long passages or a book," he said. But cell phones are perfect devices for delivering "bite-size pieces" of information to students in their free time. "If you've got five minutes sitting in the back of a bus or car, instead of looking out the window, you can look at your phone and learn something," Lutz said. The Princeton Review's new cell-phone application, which is only available to Verizon cell-phone users so far, lets college-bound students take timed mini-tests or drill for the math, grammar, and reading components of the SAT. Students also can program their phones to deliver a certain number of questions at a certain time each day. Using this push technology, the phone will ring to let students know new questions have arrived. "That's the most cutting-edge part of this," Lutz said. The cell-phone SAT prep tool is free to students enrolled in one of The Princeton Review's programs. Students can also sign up for it separately for a $5.75 fee charged to their monthly Verizon phone bill. Schools and districts can contact The Princeton Review for more information about how to offer the cell-phone program to their students.

What Can You Learn from a Cell Phone? Almost Anything! http://www.ravewireless.com/resource_learn.htm?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=23

Cell Phones as Teaching Tools As the old adage says, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The cell phone is a tool with an ever increasing range of functions. Can students use them for educational purposes? Consider the following functionalities that a cell phone might bring to a school that lacks a wide range of technology tools:


 * Calculators. Although most schools have them in math class, other classes that don't have them on hand for students can benefit from number crunching. For example, social studies students studying elections can quickly determine percentages of electoral votes or other scenarios. Science classrooms can use them to perform calculations related to fieldwork.


 * Digital cameras. Not all schools or classrooms are outfitted with digital cameras, although many can benefit from them. For example, students can use them to document a variety of things for multimedia presentations or reports. Fieldtrips can be documented and incorporated into digital travelogues.


 * Internet access. Some phones have wireless Internet access, thus opening up a world of possibilities for class use. Science students might conduct fieldwork and submit their observations or data to either an internal or external data gathering site.


 * Dictionaries. Students in literature and language arts classes can benefit from being able to quickly query the definition of a word. Additionally, students who are English learners especially can benefit from translation dictionaries which are becoming available on cell phones.