At Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, teachers decide whether cell phones can be on, or used, in class.

Principal Jill Martin said students are not allowed to use phones to text or call their friends; phones are only allowed for educational purposes. But even that is a change from last school year, when phones had to be turned off. Period.

English teacher Eric Beard incorporated the language of text messaging into a lesson on Shakespeare. Many students found the Middle English dialect of "Othello" to be problematic, Beard said, so he talked to them about different dialects, including the abbreviated language of text or instant messaging. When students took on the assignment of translating passages of "Othello" into other dialects, some students used the texting dialect, "resulting in some very interesting dialogue between Iago and Othello," Beard said.

Martin said teachers attended a conference about 21st century classrooms and learned that "we're way behind the students in the use of technology."

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