Is a smartphone in the hands of an idiot still a smartphone?

As a college lecturer, I am frequently fighting the battle with students who can't leave their mobile phones alone. All day, every day we fight this battle where students play on their phone during class, sending messages to each other, downloading and sharing porn, racing out of class to take calls and generally distracting students doing the right thing. I am still yet to see them use these amazing devices for any intelligent activities and frequently ask myself "Is a smartphone in the hands of an idiot still a smartphone?"

Evidence indicates the most prolific users are generally the students that fail written and practical examinations. I have even had cases where students get up and leave during written examinations to take phone calls, the surprised looks on the faces when they come back to see a big fail written on their paper is astounding. They then make formal complaints about you - I actually encourage this as it all comes out and management have to act, its actually the best that can happen. 

A lack of leadership by college management has failed to address the issue, many of them truly believe they should be allowed to use their phones while taking a test. Inaction has caused a fairly simple issue to fester, the inability to address confrontation has left frontline staff addressing confrontation without any support.