The history of the cell phones for learning movement

Are you going to follow the pack or be an education pioneer?  When it comes to using cell phones for learning, if you're not on board yet you'll be left in the dust.  Here's a timeline that outlines how schools have gone from banning to embracing these powerful learning tools.

When	What
Early 1990s	Schools banned all electronic devices, (pagers, beepers, cell phones) which tended to be associated with drug dealing or gangs.
Late 1990s	Cell phones became commonplace, smaller, and cheaper.  Text messaging became popular, especially with teens.
1999 - 2002	After the Columbine High School shootings and the acts of terrorism on our country, parents wanted to be able to communicate with their children at any time.  Cell phones, parents argued, were necessary for safety, and the ban was relaxed in many schools. As stated on the Education World website in an article on school issues in 2002, “More than a decade after many school systems and states prohibited students from carrying and using cellular phones in school, state lawmakers and administrators are rethinking their positions.  The widespread use of the devices and parents’ concerns about their children’s safety are prompting new policies that allow students use.” (Delisio, 2002). The National School Safety and Security Services acknowledged that schools were looking into this issue and, “...some have reversed their past positions of prohibiting cell phones in schools” (2002).

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