Schools banning cellphones

Schools all over the US are "cracking down on students whose cellphones disrupt classes and make it easier to cheat," USATODAY reports. For example, Milwaukee's 222 schools just started enforcing an if-you-use-it-we'll-take-it rule "prompted by fights that escalated into brawls when students used cellphones to summon family members and outsiders." Reporter Judy Keen gives us other examples in Minnesota, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New York City. Meanwhile, 2006 was a record year for cellphones – more than 1 billion shipped in last year, the Associated Press reports. And in the New York Times, SafeKids.com’s Larry Magid points out that, with a mere download or two, most any kid could figure out how to make the most basic phone do a lot of what today’s expensive “smart phones” can do.