Engaged -v- entertained

Section 32 of Seth Godin's ebook (manifesto) talks about the fork in the road and making choices.  Students have so many devices that they can choose how to use them.  A student can:

... spend his spare time getting smarter, more motivated, and more involved, or he can tune out, drop out and entertain himself into a stupor.  The same devices deliver either or both from the online ether - and the choices that people make is one that's going to develop early, based on the expectations of our teachers and the standards of our peers.

What is our expectation as teachers?  Do we ban smartphones and devices such as iTouches or iPads in schools?  Do we see them as merely providing our students with entertainment?  Or do we see them as powerful educational tools and use them to engage students in their own learning?

Photo Credit:  Peak Bridle by Jeremy Keith