As more and more teenagers own cell phones, a small number of schools are making the most of the devices' popularity by finding legitimate educational and instructional uses for them.

Twenty-five schools in New Hampshire are encouraging their students who own web-enabled cell phones to use them to access homework, class assignments, and other content.

"It allows cell phones to be viewed more as educational tools than simply for recreational use," said Nick Rago, director of HomeWorkNow.com, a homework-management web site that recently began allowing students to access its content via web-enabled cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Cell phones are one of most ubiquitous portable technology devices available to students. According to NetDay's "Speak Up Day for Students 2003" survey, 70 percent of students in grades 6-12 and 61 percent of students in grades 3-6 said they use a cell phone either in school or during their free time.

Nearly two-thirds of the teachers at Exeter High School in New Hampshire post homework and class assignments for their students each day on HomeWorkNow.com, and with the site's new accessibility, teachers now encourage students to check the site via their cell phones.

Like many schools, Exeter has adopted an "as long as I don't see or hear it" policy regarding cell-phone use during school hours. Because of the no-cell-phone rule, Exeter students can't access their homework assignments on their phones during the day--but after school, when they are at part-time jobs or riding the school bus, it's not a problem.

"Students are pretty busy, and this allows them to retrieve their homework pretty quickly," said Ellen Johnson, a Spanish teacher and advisor to the world languages department at Exeter High School.

Only two months into the school year, accessing HomeWorkNow.com seems to be popular among students. "Just from my personal account from my Spanish students, I've received more than 1,000 hits," Johnson said.

Students at a high school in Ohio show their passion for their cell phones. Schools and vendors are tapping into this passion by offering access to schedules, homework assignments, and even practice SAT questions through the phones.(Associated Press photo)

With more ways to access their assignments, students have fewer excuses when they don't complete their homework. "Students would forget to copy it down, or students wouldn't be listening at the end of class because they were thinking of lunch or getting home," Johnson said.