Should we teach using pupils' own mobile phones?

Here's an interesting debate. This is copied from a blog by Frazer Spiers at: http://speirs.org/blog/2010/10/9/run-what-ya-brung.html.  Do read the whole piece.


"Go to any technology-in-education conference these days and you will eventually hear someone make the following claim:

In the future, we will teach using the mobile phones the kids bring to school with them.

The idea seems like a good one at face value. Here's how it goes: Schools have invested heavily in ICT and they're still miles behind the state of the art. Kids always have the latest stuff and we can't stop them bringing it to school. Let's use their mobiles as classroom ICT equipment!
It sounds great, right? It hits so many spots:

• Kids love their mobile phones, so they'll love whatever we teach with them!
• We are facing tighter financial times, so it'll save us tons of money!
• We can't be blocked by the IT guy!

Unfortunately, this is technodeterminist fantasy-land. This idea is both wrong in principle and unworkable in practice and it needs to be opposed."  (Frazer Spiers, October 9th 2010)