Rural Tourism, a different way to take a vacation time.

	Rural Tourism, a different way to take a vacation time.
	The traditional ranch house has very comfortable and spacious rooms organised with a big cosy kitchen, a spacious dining room, bedrooms with mainly private bathrooms, living rooms, library or reading rooms, playing rooms, swimming pools, etc. In winter, though the rooms are heated, it is a tradition to light up a fireplace and enjoy reading a good book or just look out of the windows the magnificent pampean dawns and sunsets. The ranches are extensions of field between 1.000 and 20.000 has. of area for cattle-breeding that are located nearly towns where generally supplies purchases are made.
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Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom?

Here’s what you, our community members, had to say:

• 2/3 of the respondents told us, “Cell phones have no place in the classroom except for emergencies.”
• 1/3 of you disagreed, saying, “Cell phones are powerful, readily-available tools and we should be using them as part of our educational program.”

Some of your comments:

Cell phones can be used for text messaging, replying to emails, learning to upload & edit photos, and many now have video cameras. The possibilities are endless… Students must constantly be supervised, as they should be for everything they do. I know my students have more advanced, and better cell phones than I do; we could all learn from these new tools of the 21st century
– Denise

I think the power of the cell-phone’s cameras alone make them a useful tool for the classroom. It is time we let students use all accessible tools to create projects.
– Beth

The pro-cell comments sound very progressive, but the reality is that we have to use classroom management systems in computer labs to monitor our students’ computer use as is. There are those that abuse the privilege. I train teachers who check their email (one was doing a search for a new sofa) so I turn off the Internet. It’s just too tempting.
– TS

Even if you want to use them as tools in the classroom, teachers should avoid using them because of difference in individual phones’ abilities (usually based on phone cost which could be a social stigma) and services plans that students have. You must also account for students who do not have that resource without singling them out as being under-privileged or from a family who does not allow them that luxury.
– B Savant

With the introduction of smartphones, cell phones will eliminate the issue of one-to-one computers for students and districts having to fund them. Students will be able to bring them in themselves and the cost will be very minimal
– T Curley

I have seen texting of test questions, text messaging has interfered with other electronics in the classroom(wireless printers) and just plain talking to others somewhere else while in class. These are not good things, nor a good educational practice.
– Bernard

The paradigm needs to shift. The newer generation of cell phones are, in fact, minaturized computers. Do we ban computers from the classroom or use them to enhance the learning experience for students?
– Liz