Last year I took a class in education, that involved learning various teaching methods and finding unusual ways to address learning in the many "learning styles" all individuals have. We learned ways to make one lesson address visual versus auditory learners etc. This article, detailing how one teacher uses cell phones (and other devices) in her classroom, was one of our lessons. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_372710.html
I think anything can be become a distraction, or can be used as a learning aid. It's up to the teachers to not engage in a power struggle, but to turn the technology we have available into a tool.