When I was schooling this is unheard of, as it will account to cheating if you’re in possession of any devices that could assist you. Be it by accident and despite not knowing you’re having it and found to be with any such devices, you could face expulsion or immediate failure

Well times are changing as Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Sydney is allowing such devices. These ‘gadgets’ can be used by students to search and access sources of information, call friends or listen to podcasts when in examination

A trial of 40-minute tasks was done on a group of year-nine English students where such gadgets are used for students to cite sources in the tasks. The school administration explains that such new exam concept will prepare pupils for the real-world information access methods

Well I do agree on this and yes even educational institution need to keep with the times or be left behind. Well for the girls at Presbyterian Ladies’ College, if the trial went smoothly, the open-gadget exam format will implemented to all subjects by the end of 2008

via source