At Aragon, we have a wide variety of teachers, each with a different set of rules regarding cell phone use in the classroom. This classroom by classroom lack of standardization creates wide inequalities in policy and has students constantly switching gears.
Ever since cell phones became common for teenagers, school administration, students, and parents have debated about the extent of control schools should have regarding the use of cell phones. With the increase in cell phones amongst teenagers today, schools should adapt by making classroom rules regarding cell phone use more lax.
For cell phones to become truly useful, regulated and universal usage should be allowed. This is a combination of both teacher-facilitated integration geared towards a curriculum and student-based learning, allowing students to spontaneously look up definitions and glance at their email. This kind of forward-thinking policy would probably scare those who are doubtful of cell phone integration, but the biggest misconception is that less restrictions means a cell phone free-for-all, or having students glued to their cell phones all period. Instead, regulated use would give students free access to a huge wealth of information and engagement that already sits in their pocket.
Allowing cell phone use is also more efficient than the current policy; valuable class time is wasted by teachers constantly reprimanding students for the use of cellular devices during class. We should limit this kind of interruption only to when students are clearly using their cell phones in a way that hinders the learning environment.
Cell phones can be used to augment a curriculum in myriad ways. One notable way I experienced the integration of phones into a classroom was in Health class my freshman year. Our teacher choose to utilize a website called “Poll Everywhere,” where each of us would type in a unique code that led us to a set of questions that we could vote on and our answers would anonymously appear on screen. This approach allowed us to feel comfortable answering more sensitive questions with anonymity and also gauge the other opinions of our peers. This sparked a discussion that wouldn’t have happened without the integration of cell phones into our classroom experience.
Keeping students engaged in class is an ongoing problem that, somewhat ironically, cell phones could fix. With the multitude of new ways to engage students in learning, it seems wrong to ignore all the possible ways to assimilate technology, especially cell phones, into the curriculum. I have personally witnessed the almost immediate increase in eager participation when teachers move beyond the more traditional teaching techniques and decide to incorporate technology.
Obviously, the fact that cell phones seem to make cheating even easier and more widespread is a major argument. But just because teachers allow students to use phones during class time and homework does not mean that students are automatically going to find a way to use them for tests. Academic dishonesty has always plagued education, but making cell phones a more integral part of the day-to-day classroom procedure does not mean that cheating with them is going to suddenly become a more pressing problem.
As the times change, so should the means and rules that teachers educate by. Especially since cell phones are a commodity owned by most of the student community, it seems very worthwhile to take advantage of them rather than letting them sit in kids’ backpacks unused. Instead of enforcing strict rules against cell phones, an uphill battle that will never be won, we should utilize them to both the student’s and teachers’ advantage.
