Students Rachael Mehrara, middle left, and Alexandra Chavez-
Earls, 13, use an iPhone in class in Chandler, Ariz. / Michael
Schennum, The Arizona Republic Pulling a cellphone out during
class used to mean likely confiscation and perhaps detention for
students bold enough to try. Now, a growing number of schools
are turning to the smartphones students bring with them to
school as an instructional device that can augment classroom
learning. Teachers ask students to use their smartphones to look
up a vocabulary word, take a photo of an assignment written on
the board or text themselves a homework reminder. Teachers use
countless apps, many of them free, to better connect students
with coursework on a platform they're familiar with. Eston
Melton, an assistant principal at West Potomac High School in
Alexandria, Va., says students can better internalize their
lessons when they're doing them on their own personal
smartphones or tablets. "My education becomes something I walk
around with in my pocket," he says. Outsi