Mobile phones in the learning place are usually looked upon as bad distracting equipment, but more and more schools are experimenting with allowing the use of smartphones in the school environment, and maybe the new Nexus One handset could lead the way for more use in the classroom.
An article over on zdnet puts forward the case for the Google phone in the classroom. They basically say that most of today’s smartphone aren’t suited to the classroom environment due to it being locked to a carrier and carriers don’t like giving up control or management over a handset.
However, with the Nexus One, if it is unlocked there is a possibility that it could support educational apps and allow for management and control within the classroom such as disabling text messaging whilst in school, content filtering, disabling voice, and only allowing the use of WiFi, all possible apparently, but not with a carrier locked phone.
Although they do say they aren’t advocating this model, and that the Nexus One may not be the phone for schools, but it is worth considering the possibility. So what are your views, would the Android packing Nexus One be the ideal handset for a school environment if said features could be controlled by the school, or would it still be just as distracting?
