Meg Canada interwiewed me for a YALS article the week. In the course of our IM discussion she mentioned a school she just visited in San Francisco that gives students PDAs and has sync station in the school. I found an older article about it here: http://www.pdastreet.com/articles/2001/8/2001-8-28-High-School-Using.html
The other thing Meg told me about is they do not filter the computers there. They’ve adopted a commitment to “wise freedom.” One of the goals of the school is to educate students to achieve “personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom.”
I wonder if wise freedom could be an offshoot of radical trust and a healthy learning atmosphere. Some schools have filters that play loud sirens when a student ventures onto a Web site deemed innappropriate by higher ups. I’m inclined to think wise freedom — education to make good choices — is a better alternative.