JALTCALL2002 PROCEEDINGS Are we ready for cellphones in the classroom? Joseph V. Dias 1. Introduction This paper describes an on-going action research project that began with an assessment of how 976 Japanese university health science majors employ mobile devices and their attitudes about possible educational applications. As the results showed generally favorable attitudes about this technology, a mobile-friendly BBS was introduced along with links to iMode sites suited to student needs and tastes. Use of these tools and their reception by students are reported. The initial impetus for the project came by observing that practically all university freshmen in Japan possess mobiles, use them enthusiastically for texting and conversing, manipulate them with ease, and seem to feel more comfortable with them than with computers. In addition, students do not feel intimidated by the somewhat complex and cumbersome method of text input, which necessitates user manuals of mammoth proportions (e.g., 491 pages for the popular N503i model; NTT DoCoMo, 2001). In comparison to the apathetic and slow acquisition of computer literacy among Japanese students and public at large (Dias, 2000, pp. 52- 53), the uptake of mobile technology—particularly cellphones and PHSs—has been spectacularly rapid and widespread.