Comments on: Bad, evil, naughty law!

By: Twenty Minutes for Tech » Blog Archive » Keep Cell Phones in School

Twenty Minutes for Tech » Blog Archive » Keep Cell Phones in School — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:04:39 +0000

[...] of folks are up in arms over this one. This blog post (from Dan Callahan) points to this petition that you can sign if you, too, are against this bill. [...]

By: The K12 Geek » Blog Archive » Banning Cell Phones in PA Classrooms - a bad idea

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:41:11 +0000

[...] of folks are up in arms over this one. This blog post (from Dan Callahan) pointed me to this petition that you can sign if you, too, are against this [...]

By: Donna

Donna — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:03:26 +0000

I live 3000 miles away, and I am ticked off too! If they try it there, they’ll try it here in CA also. What idiot dreamed this up? In the first place, I am sick and tired of people treating kids like they are something less than a person with civil rights also. There is WAAAAAAAAAAY too much legislation in this country, and the government (which includes the public school system) puts their shiny little noses in way too many places they don’t belong. I agree a teacher should have the right to prevent distractions from learning during class (you wouldn’t let a student carry a portable cd player and play it during class either) but beyond that, what the students do is between them and their parents. (You know, those people who are “SUPPOSED” to be responsible for the proper care and raising of the children they brought into the world…) I am sick and tired of the government telling me what my kids can and can’t do! Arrggghhh!!!!!

By: Sign of the Times? « Thumann Resources

Sign of the Times? « Thumann Resources — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:21:52 +0000

[...] eliminated in an entire state? I immediately went and checked out House Bill #363. I read through Dan Callahan’s post on the topic, Damian Bariexca’s sample letter and when I read Chris Lehmann’s post [...]

By: Greg Carroll

Greg Carroll — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:03:07 +0000

Will this bill apply the same rules to the Department as well? If it does it won’t last long I would guess …. lets see the administrators see how long they can do their jobs without cell phones, laptops, etc. Then a quiet word about applying the same logic to the people and institutions they oversee …
Sigh! Incredible how people can be SOOOOOO out of touch with reality.
Stand strong and best wishes from New Zealand
Greg

Greg Carroll’s last blog post..admin rights on your Mac laptop

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:51:49 +0000

It’s funny. over the past year or so I’ve seen, first of all, more kids with phones…they’re nearly ubiquitous down through 6th grade now, it seems. In my special education class, which is made up of students who struggle both academically and socially, I know for a fact that at least half of them have cell phones, and they’re text messaging each other on the weekends.

I never really thought of the cost-saving aspects of phones, but it really makes a lot of sense. When every kid has internet access in their pockets, I don’t have to worry about how our school of 1500 only has one open computer lab and one mobile cart for basic research.

Hopefully, in this situation the legislators will listen to the people who are actually in the field before they do something like screw everything up for us. Fortunately, we’re using the technology right back against them…I would imagine almost everybody here in PA who’s upset about this bill found out about it from Twitter. I just happened to randomly check it on my iPhone in the middle of the day, and immediately went and hit up the legislature’s page to see the exact content of the bill for myself.

By: Bill Ferriter

Bill Ferriter — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:37:11 +0000

Good post, Dan.

If it is any consolation, we’ve got our share of Luddites here in NC too.

It makes me laugh because we don’t have the money to purchase class sets of dictionaries, but if we’d just allow our kids to text Google, we’d never need class sets of dictionaries.

Same thing with timers. I was doing a science lab this week and had no timers—which are nearly universal as extras on phones and ipods.

Been using free services like Gabcast for portable podcasting from phones too.

The list goes on and on and on.

Why can’t decisionmakers embrace phones as cost saving measures?

AARRGGH!
Bill

By: Jimbo Lamb

Jimbo Lamb — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:34:36 +0000

This bill has me so worked up at the moment. And the fact that they introduced this on the last day of PETE&C is even worse. These legislators should have taken a 15 minute trip to Hershey to hear from those of us spearheading educational technology so they would have realized how stupid it is to try and ban these devices. Banishment will only lead to more problems. We need to educate our students about proper use of these devices, as well as use them to the benefit of education! Jimbo Lamb’s last blog post..Cell Phones in Education: An obstacle