Stephen’s Untold Stories

Very intriguing. I’d like to see more schools supporting this kind of thing.

Andrew Schaper, the 17-year-old founder, launched Soshiku after he himself could not find any reliable, easy way to keep track of his schoolwork. Aimed primarily at high school and college students, Soshiku has been made with ease of use and accessibility in mind.

After setting up an account, Soshiku users can add assignments directly from email, their mobile phone via text messaging (SMS), or the web interface. Users can also receive assignment due date notifications in advance to their email or mobile phone.

It doesnʼt stop there. As many high school and college students are aware, getting an assignment that requires partners is an inevitability. Users are able to add partners to their Soshiku account, so they can collaborate on notes, assign tasks to each other, and share important documents.

Check it out here!

What an interesting story. Students in Marietta City Schools can now text the police if they need to report something suspicious.

Students aren’t usually allowed to use their cellphones at school. But under the “Text a Cop” plan, Marietta High School students won’t face disciplinary action for their efforts to keep their school safe.

The Marietta school board voted 6-0 Tuesday night to allow students to send text messages to two police officers on campus.

“It’s just the way our students communicate these days,” said Marietta High principal Leigh Colburn, who said parents are excited about the progressive program. “Marietta wants to be out front of school safety.”

The idea is that students will be encouraged to report items of concern, whether it be rumored plans of other students, or something more personal, such as abuse.

Marietta Lt. Cliff Kelker said if something serious is happening on campus, text messages will provide quick response.

“We can get help faster than any other way we have out there,” said Kelker, who oversees school resource officers.

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Better get used to it, administrators. Cell phones are here to stay.

Richfield High School once had a total ban on cell phones.

But Principal Jill Johnson said she started hearing confessions from teachers that they were just as guilty of sneaking a call during the day as their students.

Now, Richfield schools allow cell phones, just not during class. Johnson said that gives students a chance to show responsibility.

Students and staff at several schools say blanket bans are unenforceable. And it’s that sentiment that has many Minnesota schools tweaking their policies.

“What seems like the easy thing to do is to just say ‘no’ to it. ‘Put it away, I don’t ever want to see those cell phones in school,’ ” Johnson said while looking at her own two cell phones at her desk. “But the reality is they’re such a fundamental … that not having them is so awkward it doesn’t make sense.”

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I’m not sure I agree that this is a “losing battle.” Can’t it be a “winning battle” if the students are taught to use their cell phones to help them learn?

But while school administrators experience occasional heartburn over how creatively students may use their cell phones, some believe the time has come for teachers and school staff to work with technology used by students, not against it.

At this month’s meeting of the Utah Board of Education, board member Teresa Theurer warned fellow board members against restrictions on cell phones that might prove counterproductive as they craft a model policy regarding cell phones in schools. Theurer said her son’s English teacher at Logan High School has found ways to incorporate cell phone text messaging and e-mail into lessons and assignments that engage students to a remarkable degree. Assignments are sent as text messages or e-mail attachments, Theurer said. She’s also read accounts of teachers who use students’ cell phones to “text” a class discussion, rather than discuss a topic in class.

“If you want to get a message to a teenager, you send a text message,” Theurer said. “We need to incorporate what’s going on in the world. We can’t turn our backs on what’s happening, because it’s not all bad.”

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