It’s a wireless world, we are just living in it.

Over the last week I have been in a variety of settings with educators and other superintendents from across the country.  Everyone was using a mobile/wireless device as part of their learning, sharing and communicating.  There is little doubt that society has hit the tipping point.  There will soon be more mobile devices than desktops and laptops combined.  Ironically, at a couple of the meetings where we were all on our own devices we discussed school policies that prohibited their use by students.  One school leader boasted that they “solved” their cell phone issue by taking them away over a weekend, and no “kid” would risk being without their phone over a weekend.

I am not saying there are easy answers to the policy and infrastructure issues that are presented when everyone (students & adults) is using their mobile device in school.  What I am saying is that trying to find ways to keep them out is just not worth the time and effort – and in my mind in most cases it is counterproductive to learning too.

Now, there is a time and place for use and as educators it is up to us to thoughtfully determine when and how we should be using these tools for learning.  Instead of putting them away, we need to continue to find ways to leverage them to our advantage.