Seriously???

Future for cell phones in classrooms?

KELLER, Texas (UPI) -- A University of Michigan professor and a Texas teacher say cell phones are the future of classroom computers.

Matt Cook, a teacher at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Keller, Texas, said a class of fifth graders have been using donated Verizon smart phones with specialized software to perform tasks including Internet research and using Microsoft Office programs Word and Excel, The Dallas Morning News reported Friday.

Cook said he came up with the idea for classroom use of cell phones, which students in the district are banned from carrying in all other contexts, after attending a technology conference.

"To me, this is the new paper and pencil," Cook said to the newspaper.

Elliot Soloway, the University of Michigan professor who created the software for the school, said cell phones are rapidly becoming a necessary accessory for every child.

"Laptops are oh so '90s -- they're your parents' generation," Soloway told the Morning News. "While every kid does need a computer, the computer that will happen on will be cell phones. The cell phone is now as important as a pair of shoes or a coat."


http://www.arcamax.com/parents/s-501948-472181


I don't even know what to say about this...........

ummm who's paying for the connections of these phone services, even if they are all donated??

so not only do kids have to compete with all the other stresses of growing up, like whether or not they have the right brand of clothes, or even have just an email address now.....it's whether or not u have a smart cell not even a cell, but a smart cell? If I remember correct, schools are still trying to have enough computers for kids to learn and do the required work in school, now cell phones.
Let's not forget that apparently we don't even have to know how to use a pencil....call me a romantic of paper and pen, but I don't feel learning how to actually write is the old school way.........
Tell me what's going to happen to our future generations whenever we have the inevitable black outs, computer crashes, etc. Will they even have the knowledge or know how to overcome/survive these situations if we keep thinking that the only way to move forward is to be completely electronic!!

I just have a lot in my head about this and I know it's not coming out they way it should sound, possibly not even coherent at this moment, but ......seriously!!??