Personal Technologies

I think that in many cases there is a disconnect in technology between personal use and educational use. The example of using a cell phone to communicate by text messgae I feel is impractical, especially at the elemenatary level. How would you regulate what the student was really doing? You also can't guarentee that every stduent has a cell phone. Plus, it seems that by allowing them to use them in the classroom once opens the door for them to exuse having them out in the future. I would like to see cell phones used successfully and appropriately in a lesson but I don't see that happening.
You tube on the other hand could definitly be helpful for teachers. I have had many professors show you tube clips in science especially. It is a resourceful and quickway to show students a visual to further enhance the understanding of a topic. However, it should be a video that has good quality or it will defeat the purpose. Having students get on you tube could be more complicated beacuse it would again be hard to monitor. There is also a lot of inappropriate videos that they could come across even though there is some settings to limit their access. In a mature group I think it would be ok considering they were given specific expectations and severe consequences for inappropriate use.
In general I think technology can be a constructive addition to a lesson though in some instances it can be impractical, exspensive, and/or hard to manage.