<p>Some university officials are discussing banning cell phones in college classrooms, thanks to ChaCha, a new service that provides instant answers to myriad questions via text message. See School</a> cheating goes high-tech | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press</p>
<p>Is it naive to think that students can actually be taught honesty and integrity instead of saddling schools with an ever-growing number of rules and prohibitions?</p>
<p>I work for ChaCha and it is blatantly obvious that kids are using the service to cheat, both on tests and on homework. Now I feel that most of these are high schoolers, but there may also be college students using it to cheat too. Most students already have the honesty and integrity not to use cell phones to cheat, but to prevent the small few who don't from gaining a huge advantage, everyone has to be penalized.</p>
<p>Where was this when I was in college?</p>
<p>Professors let students text during tests? And the cheating they're worried about is using some online service?</p>
<p>I don't like the idea of inconveniencing the masses in order to protect against cheating by the few. It often seems to me that our society spends too much time and effort imposing such safeguards and not enough instructing our children about right and wrong.</p>
<p>Granted, if those safeguards include mental detectors in high schools or baggage searches in airports, I'll tolerate the inconvenience when it means that tragedies--however rare--may be prevented.</p>
<p>But when it comes to something like electronic cheating in high school and college classes, I think that banning cell phones simply sends a message that says, "If you try to game the system, we'll game it right back at you," rather than one that insists, "What you're doing is simply WRONG."</p>
<p>I think it's easier to ban cell phones instead of instilling values into kids that have sometimes have not been raised with them.</p>
<p>Easier, but not better. I completely agree with the first paragraph of #5. But many college classrooms aren't organized in a way to teach students right and wrong. In a lecture of 400, why would a student care if what he/she is doing is wrong or if the professor is disappointed with him/her?</p>
<p>Not saying it's not possible- colleges/universities with honor codes accomplish incorporating values into the classroom- but it's a ton more difficult to set up a system like that.</p>
<p>It's not like ChaCha answers can be trusted</p>
<p>I think it's easier to catch a cheater in a small classroom of like 30 but it's a little harder in one of those huge 300 people classes.</p>
<p>Many businesses have little signs by their checkout counters now that say something like "We will be happy to wait on you when you have completed your call."
I don't think it's unreasonable to for professors to insist that students not use their phones in class. I mean, surely they can put that thing down for an hour!!</p>
<p>It would also get rid of all the ringing and vibrating in class. Seriously, I've had people let their phone ring for at least a minute during class. I have no idea how it happened- maybe they didn't go into their bag because they wanted to pretend the phone wasn't theirs.</p>
<p>ChaCha, what a scam. They terminate accounts, freeze the money, and make you fight tooth and nail to get that money from them.</p>
<p>There entire business model doesn't make a whole lot of sense as they state it. But once you realize that scam portion, it begins to make sense how they have a profitable business. (This isn't to say that you can't make money from them, they just eventually terminate all accounts).</p>
<p>The only way they could possibly make money is by doing that. ^ It's a dirty business. </p>
<p>But yeah, thanks for the idea guys. I never thought of that. ;P</p>
<p>Only joking, but really, I had never even thought of that.</p>
<p>Unfortunately Sally_Rubenstone, for the bulk of the kids I think the problem is less right and wrong with but rather rudeness. They think texting in class, having their laptop out and connecting to the internet look at Youtube is Ok during class. They expect things they missed to be repeated and the like. At that same time, there are huge opportunities to cheat using the technology. One might ponder if the subprime mess which is really about cheaters, are these kids grown up. I agree it is sad, but what do you do to protect the good kids?</p>