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Student Owned Technology – Ban It, Control It, or Encourage It?
TECH LEADERSHIP, School Administrator, May 2004

We’ve experienced Generation X and Generation Y. Now Generation Wi-Fi is making its presence known in many schools. Today’s students are connected with each other and the world, increasingly through personally owned communication technologies.

Cell phones that send text messages and photographs, handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) that can beam files and laptop computers that connect to networks wirelessly are now found in students’ backpacks right along with calculators and three-ring notebooks.

Stories of students using these devices to cheat on tests, disrupt class, or hack school networks are common, and the knee-jerk reaction by many schools is simply to ban them. Yet, some schools permit cell phones, are experimenting with the student use of PDAs, and are working toward a 1:1 laptop computer to student ratio.

What exactly are these devices and their capabilities, and what policies and security measures should schools adopt to make sure they are used productively? Can or should we as educators ban, control or encourage their use?

Cell phones
Cell phones have been with us long enough that even adults understand and actually use them. The primary uses of cell phones are to make relatively inexpensive, convenient voice calls, receive voice mail, and store often-called telephone numbers. But increasingly, students are exploiting two newer functions.

Text messaging allows the user to “thumb” short written messages into their phones using the numeric keypad and send those messages to others cell phone users. It is silent, fast and inexpensive. Good text message senders can send messages without taking their phones from their pockets. Text messages can be sent in bulk to groups within a cell address book. With phones set to vibrate instead of ring, detecting students using text messaging is a challenge to the classroom teacher.

A number of cell phones now come equipped with cameras that can take digital photographs and quickly send them to other phones capable of viewing images or to an e-mail address. When these show up in locker rooms, student privacy is at risk.

Schools that have banned cell phones find themselves confronted by angry parents who want their children to have access to them for security reasons. Outright bans are being replaced with restrictions on when and how cell phones can be used.

Handheld computers (PDAs)
These devices, not much larger than a deck of playing cards, can pack a lot of computing power. While starting out as electronic calendars and address books, the more powerful PDAs now include word processors, spreadsheets, and even presentation programs. High-end handhelds such as Palm’s Tungsten C have wireless networking along with e-mail and web browsing software. RIM’s Blackberry is a combination PDA and cell phone that allows e-mail to be accessed even when wireless access points are not present.

Even inexpensive handhelds have the ability to “beam” files at short range. Exchanging notes, papers and programs between devices with compatible operating systems is difficult to detect. The wide-variety of games available for these devices can make them a tempting distraction during class (or staff meetings).

Again, these devices do have educational purposes and innovative projects using them to provide individual students with low cost computing power are growing in popularity, as are books describing their educational uses. Small detachable keyboards for word processing, calculating and graphic software, and science probes all make PDAs genuine educational tools.

Wireless laptop computers
Although expensive and fragile, students are bringing personal laptop computers to school. Wireless network connectivity is a standard, built-in feature of the latest models and connectivity through PCMCIA or USB input can added to older laptops for under $100. These small, light machines that run on battery power for hours have nearly the functionality and power of desktop computers. Wireless laptops especially designed for students such as Brainium’s WiBook and AlphaSmart’s Dana sell for about $500, making them increasingly affordable for more parents.

Laptop computers add to the security and monitoring challenges created by students working in a networked environment. These computers can bring in viruses to a district’s network that were downloaded from a network where there is not a firewall, such as home. Their portability and small size allows them to be used in school locations that are not easily monitored such as study carrels, hallways and even bathroom stalls.

Yet one-to-one (student to computer) projects are becoming increasingly popular and given the education value of computers it is difficult for schools to ban those owned by students, especially when there is a shortage of school-supplied computers or for students with special needs. Schools need to have policies and network configurations that keep viruses away from mission critical equipment and offer filtered Internet access. While some districts require users to log into the wireless network, we have chosen to create discrete wired and wireless Virtual Private Networks.

A phrase often seen on the bulletin boards of technology directors reads “Ex abusu non arguitur in usum. (The abuse of a thing is no argument against its use.” The phrase is especially apt regarding wireless communication devices, whether school or student owned. Schools need to learn to use these technologies to enhance educational experiences, not ignore not ban them. This generation will not be willing to leave their virtual lives at the school door