ABSTRACT
While technology optimists foresaw saw a whole range of new opportunities for smartphones in the classroom in reality most schools are highly controlled environments and these devices are often severely restricted or even banned. This sometimes creates tensions between school rules and expectations from parents and children about being available in case of an ‘emergency’ during school hours. Despite these tensions, youth do not expect a completely laissez-faire attitude: children accept that some rules and restrictions are necessary in a school context. But while smartphones could potentially be used to foster mutual and/or informal learning processes in class, this would also require teachers to go beyond the mere transmission of knowledge pedagogical framework and adopt new teaching styles to encourage critical and creative smartphone skills. Yet many teachers do not feel confident about transferring digital skills to their students. This chapter reviews current trends and practices in school environments concerning the use and mediation of smartphones, identifies opportunities and challenges for school staff, and explores teachers’ and children’s expectations about the successful integration of smartphones in school context. The chapter draws upon qualitative and qualitative data from the Net Children go Mobile project and a study in Flanders, Belgium.
