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Distracted students are nothing new, according to West High School Assistant Principal Christine Pittam.

But distractions evolve over time, she said, shifting from Walkmans to MP3 players, from analog to digital.

"It used to be that kids would pass notes," Pittam said. "Now it's cellphones. They're texting."

Reactions from educators have evolved as well.

Last year, a teacher at West High might have confiscated a student's smartphone, Pittam said. But, as of last week, the school is promoting an app called Pocket Points that instead rewards students who set aside their technology.

"Reward is a better motivator than punishment," Pittam said.

West High is the 16th campus in the state to use Pocket Points, which encourages students to lock their phones while at school by offering discounts and promotions at participating restaurants and businesses.

The list of Utah schools includes Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, Utah State University, Westminster College and the University of Utah, as well as high schools and applied technology colleges in Salt Lake, Utah and Cache counties.

At some schools, faculty members such as Pittam promote the app and encourage participation. At others, faculty and administrators may not realize the software is being used in their classrooms.

"We don't rely on or require them to do anything," said Mitch Gardner, a Pocket Points co-founder. "We didn't want it to be a mandatory thing. We wanted Pocket Points to be so cool that students just want to use it."

The app relies on geo-fences, or virtual geographic boundaries, that surround participating schools, Gardner said. Once a user's phone is within that area, the app launches a timer that accumulates points while the phone remains locked.

Those points then can be exchanged for deals at eateries such as Wendy's, Village Inn, Panda Express and other businesses.

"We thought free food might be a good thing for college students," Gardner said. "We only had colleges until this fall. We've been opening high schools up slowly, but it's something we're really interested in."

At West High, roughly 30 students had signed up on the first day, but senior Kai DeBirk said he expected to see more of his peers download the app over time.

Pocket Points includes a leaderboard, showing who on campus has the highest number of points.

"Everything is a competition at West," DeBirk said, "especially for [International Baccaleureate] students."

He said some teachers are relaxed about cellphone use, while others are more restrictive. But in every classroom, he said, students are distracted by their phones.

"No matter what the teacher's policy is, students are going to take their phones out," he said. "I see a lot of good that can come out of this."

Gardner said the app isn't meant to discourage the use of technology. Instead, he said, the goal is to encourage students to focus on their schoolwork and leave distractions for a more appropriate time.

"There's a time and a place," he said. "In the classroom, we really believe that being present and being in tune with what is going on in front of you is more important than what is going on with your phone."

Twitter: @bjaminwood