Is it just me, or do other people find the NYC cell phone pilot program somewhat flawed? First you have the reality that Mayor Bloomberg decided to ban the devices from school all together vs. attempt to enforce rules around not using them during class. The ban also includes MP3 players so it essentially voids any possibility of experimenting with the phones and iPods students already own as potential educational tools.

Now NYC has approved a pilot program that would give students new phones loaded with educational tools/games (as well as advertising and branded rewards). From the AdAge.com (reg. required) article:

…The program involves giving away free mobile phones packed with learning tools such as a thesaurus, spell checks and an extra-help tip line to each student. The more a student uses these learning applications, the more rewards — discounts for movies, sneakers, clothes and music downloads, as well as air-time minutes and text messages — are unlocked. Additional incentives for achievement and attendance, including congratulatory voice-mail messages from, say, Derek Jeter or a wake-up call from Jay-Z, are also planned.

So we're replacing students phones that they can't bring to school with new phones (that they still may not be able to bring to school) packed with branded content.

What about incentivizing students with innovative new ways of learning in the classroom using blogs, wikis, iPods and cellphones? How about integrating the technology they already have or use into existing lesson plans? If students aren't engaged or interested in learning, bribing them with phone bling feels like a Band Aid solution and another opportunity for marketers to reach kids in class.

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