Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs wants smartphones in the classroom, and after school, to help make kids smarter.
By Stephanie N. Mehta, assistant managing editor
February 23, 2009: 12:53 PM ET
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- More than two decades ago, Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs introduced the world to a new technology standard for cellphones. Now Jacobs hopes to make cell phones standard equipment in the world's classrooms.
Jacobs, who is chairman of the wireless technology company, recently spoke to Fortune about a Qualcomm-funded pilot program that put smartphones in four North Carolina high schools. "Over the years I've thought about smart phones for education," Jacobs says.
But Jacobs admits he mostly focused on using the devices to teach in the classroom; the students in the pilot program, he reports, found the phones most valuable for after-school collaboration with teachers and classmates.
"It turns out the most valuable aspect was the social networking," he says.
"They were able to interact with one another, ask questions about homework, figure out solutions."
The pilot, dubbed Project K-Nect, last year provided math students with basic HTC smartphones with limits on the people with whom the students could communicate. Using materials developed by Drexel University and Florida State University, teachers incorporated the devices into their lesson plans.
They also encouraged students to use the phones to help solve problems after school, much the way students might use computers to assist in homework.
Jacobs, who obviously has a strong personal and professional interest in promoting the use of mobile devices, maintains that cellphones are superior to computers, especially the bare-bones machines designed for classrooms in low-income and emerging markets.
"Cell phones are much more reliable and have a lot lower support costs," says Jacobs. He notes that wireless broadband connections are available om much of the U.S., making it easy for students to download rich applications and even surf the web via phones. And in markets outside the U.S., most students will only access the Net via cellphone.
Of course, not everyone agrees with Jacobs' vision of a cellphone for every student. "Texting, ringing, vibrating," Janet Bass, a spokeswoman for the American Federation of Teachers, recently told The New York Times.
"Cellphones so far haven't been an educational tool. They've been a distraction."
But the use of cell phones in education also is gaining some unexpected supporters. A recent study titled "Pockets of Potential" concluded: "While concerns about health and safety must be addressed, a new emphasis on the potential of digital media to aid learning, especially for low-income children, is overdue." The author? A research fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
And teachers involved in the Qualcomm-backed project are believers, too.
Suzette Kliewer, a math teacher at Southwest High School in Jacksonville, N.C., said she saw average algebra students move into honors geometry classes in part because of the leg up the smartphones gave them. She said students used the phones to record videos of their peers explaining concepts, which not only added to their problem-solving abilities, but gave them confidence presenting information, too.
"Kids are not sitting around taking pictures or texts," says Kliewer. "This project has been very beneficial to these kids."
Cell phones in the classroom won't be an easy sell, but Qualcomm's Jacobs has overcome skeptics before: When he introduced the CDMA wireless technology (short for Code division multiple access) wireless industry insiders doubted its viability, arguing that the world didn't need another digital wireless standard. (Much of the rest of the world embraced the dominant global standard, GSM.)
Still Jacobs convinced a handful of operators, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint, to adopt CDMA, and Qualcomm's intellectual property is part of so-called 3G or third generation, broadband services deployed by most all carriers, including operators that use the GSM standard. If Jacobs could get the wireless industry to accept CDMA, he should be able to convince school districts to give cell phones a try.
When I first read this article I found it to be a very interesting concept. People don't usually consider cellphone use a "normal" activity that takes place in a high school classroom. Speaking from personal experience, I feel that being able to have technology at your disposal within the classroom is something that is truly beneficial. Going to a school when they provide every student with a laptop has been a great advantage. But there is also a downside, which usually comes from the faculty perspective. It's true that not every student uses their laptop for taking notes and it can be distracting. So what is stopping these kids from being distracted by using a cellphone? They make a valid argument within the article itself, but when reading, it seems like there is also great potential for students to utilize smart phones within the classroom. Because this trend is so new, it's hard to say if it will be able to stick and become more common place. We live in a society where technology is forever changing, growing and expanding what we are able to do. Who knows, maybe the use of smart phones and handheld devices will become common place within the classroom one day.
-Kyle
STAMFORD, Conn. – Travis the chimpanzee, a veteran of TV commercials, was the constant companion of a lonely Connecticut widow who fed him steak, lobster and ice cream. He could eat at the table, drink wine from a stemmed glass, use the toilet, and dress and bathe himself.
He brushed his teeth with a Water Pik, logged on to a computer to look at photos and channel-surfed television with the remote control.
But on Monday, the wild animal in him came out with a vengeance.
The 200-pound animal viciously mauled a friend of his owner before being shot to death by police.
Police said they are looking into the possibility of criminal charges. A pet owner can be held criminally responsible if he or she knew or should have known that an animal was a danger to others.
Police said that Travis was agitated earlier Monday and that Herold had given him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in some tea. Police said the drug had not been prescribed for the 14-year-old chimp.
In humans, Xanax can cause memory loss, lack of coordination, reduced sex drive and other side effects. It can also lead to aggression in people who were unstable to begin with, said Dr. Emil Coccaro, chief of psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
"Xanax could have made him worse," if human studies are any indication, Coccaro said.
This is absolutely insane...what the hell is a lady doing with a 200 pound pet monkey. I don't care how cute he is, or how he ate at the table with her and probably wiped his mouth with a napkin, nobody should have a giant pet monkey as a pets. Simple fact. Especially some old lady who cant control is monkey rage. I'm sure there has to be some law out there about keeping monkeys as pets. And how come none of her neighbors called animal control when she was driving around in her car and instead of a human in the passenger seat she has a 200 pound monkey. Didn't anyone think this lady might be a little unstable?
To top it off the crazy monkey lady gave the thing prescription drugs. Why are you giving your monkey Xanax for? If you know the thing is crazy maybe he shouldn't be your pet monkey anymore. This isn't Friends and that monkey ain't Marcel in that picture up there and he sure doesn't sit on your shoulder. The woman should be held responsible for her unbelievable negligence. If you search out the article and read a little more about Travis the monkey had actually caused problems in the past and animal control had to be brought in.
So then the question needs to be asked, why did she still have possession of the monkey? If animal control had awareness of the animal in her possession shouldn't they have done something about it? Again, there is no way it is legal to have a monkey living in your house in Connecticut. But hey if it is, I'm sure that will be changing soon since Travis ruined one woman's life.
Danny