Does using a cell phone in class affect a student’s learning? Cell phones can be a benefit in school by replacing other materials in the classroom. The materials cell phones can replace are: dictionaries, timers, calculators, and other items that are usually used in the classroom. Students can improve their projects by using their cell phone to record data. Also, many websites can help students send answers to their teachers via text messages. But, cell phones are also inadequate in the classroom. Cell phones have the possibility to make emergency situations worse than what they would normally be. Students can take inappropriate pictures of other students. They also can take pictures of their tests for later classes. Most importantly, cell phones cause distractions to every student. Even though cell phones can save schools thousands of dollars, they still cause distractions during classes and should not be allowed. One thing that is a benefit from having cell phones in the classroom is that they replace many materials. “Students looking for definitions to new terms or answers to basic knowledge questions started texting questions to Google’s dedicated SMS question service number and receiving instant replies” (Ferriter). Students are able to look up something on the internet in less than five minutes instead of looking in a dictionary which would take more than ten minutes. “Using nothing more than the tools that the majority of students brought to school every day, we’d successfully replaced dictionaries” (Ferriter). More and more teachers are helping by letting students use their cell phones to take notes, make podcasts, and organize their homework, but they are careful to follow district policies (Trotter). Cell phone elimin... ... middle of paper ... ...: 10. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. The author, Andrew Trotter from Education Week, talks to Rosemary Miller, the technology-integration specialist for secondary schools in the Buhler, Kansas, about having cellphones in the classroom. Miller states that the district does not have computers for every child, but cell phones are on them all the time. Also Liz Kolb, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, puts her thoughts about using the best resources available. There are sites where teachers can post quizzes and students can reply via text message. The author’s logical appeal is when he talk about using cell phones during field trips. To reinforce the argument, the author states, "Middle schools and high schools have been the main dabblers in cellphones-learning experiments, but even some elementary school are getting their toes wet.”
Watters, Audrey. “Why Schools Should Stop Banning Cell Phones, and Use Them for Learning.” Pbs.org. 29 July 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
This article emphasizes the many negative impacts cell phones possess in a learning environment, but with
Technology has been slowly integrated into the classroom for many years now. Some maybe older than others, but they have all seemed to make the learning and teaching process much easier and effective. Computers were introduced to the curriculum to help students better understand data collection, research, and word processing and Power Points were even added to give visuals to lessons. Cell phones on the other hand have been given the cold shoulder, and even completely banned by some schools. According to the article, “Are We Dialing Up Disaster,” by George Engel and Tim Green, eighty-four percent of high school students report to owning a cell phone and that number continues to increase (Engel 39). Because students are distracted by the use of cell phones, schools around the country have made a stand to make sure they are not inhibiting the learning process. But do the bans really make a difference? Students seem to still be sending text messages in class.
Technology in the classroom is more important today than ever before. Today’s children live in a society where just about every child has access to the internet, text messaging and cell phones. Cell phone ownership in children between the ages of 4 to 14 doubled during 2005 and 2008 (Bers, Kazakoff, 2012). In order to hold the current generation’s attention one must stimulate their interests by allowing the...
There are many rules set in place by school districts and administrators against use of cell phones in the class room. These rules span from kindergarten through twelfth grade and into college. In the article “The only thing to fear is one hundred and twenty characters” Kevin M. Thomas and Christy D. Mcgee inform their readers about the positive results cell phones can have in the class room. They state that cell phones have already helped bring literacy rates up in elementary schools across the nation. The article also shows the readers some applications that they can put on their child’s smart phone that will help them with their school work. These applications help with math, english, science and reading, just to name a few. Thomas and McGee also show negative points such as cheating, cyber bullying, and sexting. Although cheating and bullying have been around for a very long time and cell phones are just another avenue that they can use. They say that sexting is a new phenomenon but is more about bad morals than school productivity. Although there are negatives for allowing cell phones in schools, the benefits outweigh the negative aspects of cell phones. Having cell phones allowed in the classroom can have many beneficial outcomes. Cell phones can be very helpful for students in academics, safety, and communication.
Educators must discover whether devices, such as cell phones, in the classroom are distractions or aids. According to Deborah R. Tindell and Robert W. Bohlander, “Some argue that cell phones have no place in a classroom setting and others argue that cell phones should be allowed both for safety reasons and as an instructional aid” (Tindell and Bohlander 1). In this spectrum of absolutes, each teacher must evaluate the goals of his or her own class to determine the possibility of whether to encourage or discourage the use of cell phones in the classroom. “One concern involves the distraction caused by the use of cell phones during class” (Tindell and Bohlander 2) However, Prensky argues that “…cell phones complement the short-burst, casual, multitasking style of today’s ‘Digital Native’ learners” (182). He goes on to say that “Using cell phones as learning devices, whether in or out of school, requires a good deal of rethinking and flexibility on the part of the educators” (182). In the English classroom, it is difficult to see where cell phones fit into the puzzle. If a teacher decides to allow cell phones, they should aid learning and not hinder it. Among Prensky’s suggestions on how to implement cell phones, one sticks out as helpful to English teachers: the cell phone camera. Students can use their cell phone cameras as “…tools for scientific data collection, documentation, and visual journalism…” (Prensky 186). Students could use video journalism in particular to learn multimedia literacy. However, teachers should only allow cell phones at certain times to avoid texting in class, or playing
Have you ever heard of the gruesome Columbine High School massacre? This incident occurred on April 20th 1999 and involved two students embarking on a shooting rampage, killing twelve students, a teacher and wounding twenty three others. Unfortunately during this incident, the school's most easily accessible phone was on the other side of the school in the library. Perhaps some of these lives could have been saved if the students in this class had cell phones that they could've used to contact the authorities more quickly. The issue we are addressing today is the use of cellular devices in educational facilities. I believe that cell phone use is of extreme convenience, and has academically beneficial aspects, among it's so called "faults".
Should students be able to use cell phones during class periods? This is a question a lot of students and parents have asked themselves. The invention of cell phones started a debate for many schools. Many schools accept the use of cell phones but experience a lot of frustration over them. There are many reasons for and against the use of cell phones in schools. People who support cell phone use in schools are usually teenagers. People who disagree with cell phone use in schools are usually teachers or parents, who think cell phones are a distraction. A lot of students see cell phones as a useful device but many see them as a distraction during class. Throughout this essay you'll read about the pros and cons regarding cell phones usage. Overall, this essay will attempt to argue that students should be allowed full use of their cell phones during school hours.
Cell phones are small and portable yet provide so much to its user with being able to look up anything to calling your parents in case of an emergency or if you need to give them a heads up on something. With the way things are today people need to focus on incorporating cell phones into daily life and finding ways to make them more suitable in a classroom environment. Teachers are already doing this though with using apps that work with the whole class and can track data and usage of a student. It cannot be debated that cell phones are beneficial in school as before cell phones you would have to go to your local library and hopefully find what you are looking for. Cell phones belong in a school environment as they can be helpful and it 's a parent 's right to be able to get ahold of their
One reason to consider the introduction of cell phones in learning is to promote digital etiquette, a concept that is foreign to most people. According to Liz Kolb (the author of “Toys to Tools”) Digital etiquette is “a basic set of rules you should follow in order to make the internet better for others, and better for you.” Kolb says in her book that “an educator’s job is to help students navigate and stay safe in their media world”. Students often are unaware to the consequences of their use and misuse of technology. Currently, many students do not overthink about protecting their own privacy. For example 55% of students do not care whether the digital material they use is copyrighted. Students ages 10 to 17 often do not take in appropriate cell phone use. According to Kolb “While nine out of ten 10- to 17- year olds believe that they are courteous on their cell phones, 52% admit to sending text messages at the movie theater, while 28% admit to sending texts at the dinner table.” These statistics show that teens are unaware with cell pho...
Can you see yourself without a cell phone today? This world has become so technologically dependent that it is hard for anyone to not use a cell phone, a computer, or some sort of device at least once during the day. Since technology has come so far, better education should be possible. Cell phones are a way of communication and can make people feel safe, so it is hard to believe that most schools ban them. It is time for schools to see that technology is the future and it is growing rapidly, along with educational and safety features.
Like I said before, almost every teen has a cell phone or smart phone. "In 2010, 75 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds owned a cell phone(Lenhart, I.ing, Campbell, Purcell)." If 75 percent or more of our youth have cell phones and smart phones and are comfortable using them, why don't we uses them as learning tools in school? Schools and teachers rejecting and denying the use of cell phones are basically turning their backs to an outstanding learning tool that could tremendously improve the learning environment. If teachers could take advantage of the power of cell phones and smart phones, the effect on the learning environment could be incredible...
Technology and more specifically cellular phones play an important role in our everyday life. Today researchers have found that cellular’s help not only inside the classroom but have had a positive learning outcome outside as well (Thomas & OBannon, 2013). When we think of cell phone, learning is not the first thing that comes to mind, but with the different ways that as teacher cell phones can be use for everything. Granted most of these ideas are for more mature students, the ones that have a better understanding of not only technology but also how to use it for their education. Some say that cellular can be use as an incentive for students to learn and there are guides and books that teach educators how to handle the technology in the classroom without creating a problem. Even though some say educator are still the ones deciding if or when to use technology the truth is that every child has a Smartphone or a laptop or some technology available at that moment that not even if the teacher wanted them to stop using it they wouldn’t.
Ever since incidents such as 9/11 and Columbine, high schools have started implementing new rules regarding cellphones. Cellphones regard the attention of building managers, teachers, parents, and students. Although teachers see them as a distraction and a way to cheat, they can be quite helpful to students. School districts should permit students to use cellular devices in school for purposes of improving their education and providing themselves a sense of security.
Experts agree that cell phone benefits both the teachers and students in a great way. For instance, a growing number of students are now using mobile phones in classrooms to strengthen their commitment and learning. The field experts say that cell phone usage during classrooms is very productive as it helps to advance instructions. The improved features and functions of latest mobile phones make learning easier for students. For instance, art students can use their phones ‘camera to take images for use as inspiration in art lectures. They can also capture pictures of classroom’s notes and then email it themselves. Classroom discussion can also be facilitated with the help of mobile phones as an instructor can ask students to search particular information on a specific