To deal with the issue of laptop or computer inaccessibility, a possible substitution tool is the mobile phone. It is the most ubiquitous tool among school age children, it would be available both in the classroom and at home, and many students (4 out of 5 teenagers) already own one. And it is also available anywhere and at anytime.
In addition to its accessibility, it's an excellent tool for educational purposes. It can provide:
Organization: Tools such as calendaring can help students organize their assignments.
Production: Image, video, and audio recording can be used for data collection and production by students. As evidenced by YouTube and Flickr, music, dance, visual art, photography, and theater can all be recorded and distributed.
Communication: Using texting and twitter posts, the students can communicate with the teacher and with each other. "It provides participants with a simple method to share their voice and ideas right from their phones enabling the presenter and audience to have a clear sense of where they stand on topics being discussed." (Cool Cat Teacher Blog)
Research: With internet access all the information on the internet is available to students to use for learning. If internet access is too expensive via phone, google text still gives access to a practically infinite amount of information, in smaller bites.
And there are two more benefits: the students already know how to use it (so it is not a foreign and intimidating tool), and the students enjoy using it, so that usage of a mobile phone during class or for homework could inspire the students and make the work more enjoyable for them.
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