Police Need a Warrant to Search Your Cellphone Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court recently ruled that police must almost always obtain a warrant before searching mobile devices seized when arresting someone, extending constitutional privacy protections to the increasingly vast amounts of data Americans keep on smartphones, cellphones, and other hand-held digital technology. The ruling rejected law-enforcement arguments that cellphones fell under a long-standing exception to the warrant requirement that allows police to search the contents of suspects' pockets to make sure they don't carry weapons or destroy evidence. Privacy advocates are hailing the ruling as a bold signal that the court will protect constitutional privacy interests from the vast powers of modern technology.

Helping Kids Use Cellphones For Schoolwork

It always seems interesting that parents figure out that various technologies are useful for schoolwork quicker than teachers do, but finally many schools are harnessing the power of cellphones rather than banning them. Using cellphones to take pictures of textbook pages so kids shuttling between divorced parents can still read the assignment, using phones to photograph answers to math test questions done at home so teachers can use time in the classroom to teach rather than test, and other thoughtful ways to harness the power of cell phones are being used by teachers who would rather join kids in the technology revolution rather than fight them.

Are You Distracting Teachers?

It’s difficult for all of us to fight the urge to check email, text messages, social networks, and/or app info on our cell phones, computers, and other digital devices. Schools often have rules against teachers making and answering personal calls while they are teaching, but do parents contribute to the problem for teachers?

Peter DeWitt in his Education Week article, “Do You Check Your School E-Mail Too Much”, reminds parents to recognize that teachers have lives outside of school and expecting instant answers can distract teachers from their jobs. We’ve talked about this before in this blog and in articles on this site. Make sure you are respectful of a teacher’s time when emailing and let them know when an instant answer is not necessary.

Is It Possible to Make Cell Phones and School Compatible?

I found the comments that go with an article entitled, “Is texting in school a right? Can we make school and cell phones compatible?,” in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution fascinating. They reflect the premise that so much of the population expects that school will be taught exactly the same way it was when they were in school – sans technology. The world, though, is not the same. Technology is here and we need to figure out how to incorporate it into the average class with the average teacher on an average day. It is not going away and, as kids continue to find their personal technology more fascinating than their teachers, teachers need to figure out how to harness the power of technology into their teaching.

I actually found it rather funny that the author of the article bemoans the fact that so many teens seem to be looking downward all the time. We used to moan and groan that kids did not read and write enough.  Now, they do it all the time, but because it is not what we think they should be reading and writing, it is a problem. The bottom line is that technology should help kids look out at the world in new ways. We need to figure out how to balance looking down and looking up into a useful educational experience.

Distracted Driving Continues as Big Issue for Teens

A survey of teens and young adults, by Bridgestone Americas, found that many have engaged in distracted driving, such as receiving e-mails and text messages or browsing social media sites, while behind the wheel. Teen drivers are more likely to engage in distractions while driving if they are alone in the vehicle, the survey found. That's when 95% said they are most likely to talk on the phone without a hands-free device.

Well Done Parents Guide from 02

If you are looking for another well done general guide to digital safety take a look at this British version. There are special sections on everything from cell phones to how to stop nuisance and bullying calls and texts and how to report them. Of particular interest and a bit different is the section on “Paying for Extras.” This material covers how to teach your child about the small print before they vote for a contest or download a ringtone, or about finding they need to spend money on a game to play it.

Homework and Mobile Devices

More than a third of tweens and young teenagers in the United States said they are using smartphones to do homework, according to a survey released recently, with Hispanic students using them at a higher rate than African-Americans or whites. So, maybe they really are telling the truth when they say they are doing their homework when on the phone. Of course, there was no grade correlation with this survey, so who knows?

Progress in Online Phone Technology Changes Polling

Just when you thought you were done with election related news, the technology side of polling is being poked at. It seems the basic difficulty with polling presently (and going forward into the future) is that most of the polling data comes from phone calls, and the technology there has drastically changed. First, because of caller ID, which makes it difficult to reach subjects because lots of people ignore calls related to polling, and second, because a 1996 federal law states that calls to cellphones must be hand-dialed, not generated by computer. That increases not only the time required for getting the answers from the population, but also the cost per poll goes way up. Now, polling is being pushed to more Internet-based surveys, but there are problems with that too as not everyone has Internet or uses computers. This seems like another lesson on misinformation for kids in the making.

A Dollar A Day to Store Their Cell Phone

Since it is still an offense to carry a cell phone to school, many teens in New York City (at least those at the schools that have metal detectors) pay one dollar a day to leave their cell phone in a truck parked nearby. That adds up to $180 a year. Some PTA officials have asked permission to set up shop inside the school buildings instead, but the district has so far refused.  What does your district do and how do you feel about it?

Cellphones are Eating the Family Budget

Now that 9 out of 10 of all adult Americans have a cellphone, it is becoming more evident how much the bills for those phones are eating up the family budget. Government data shows that people have spent more on phone bills over the past four years, even as they have dialed back on dining out, clothes, and entertainment—cutbacks that have been keenly felt in the restaurant, apparel, and film industries. And, it looks like it is only going to get worse with wireless companies betting consumers will be willing to pay for faster speeds and new usage based data plans.