This is another loaded question, that countless educators have flip flopped on multiple times; at least I have. One day it feels like cell phones are a powerful learning tool that we know is going to be prevalent in real life. The next day it is a massive distraction that seems to be only good for impeding and getting in the way of learning. Reading this Guardian article from Australia, it looks like I am in good company – with some experts suggesting that cell phones are bad, with others suggesting that it would not be a good idea to disbar them from the classroom. While I have found myself more situated to one side with most of our other debates, I find myself to be caught smack in the middle on this one. The reality is, cell phones are prevalent in our daily lives, so the argument that students ought to learn how to properly use the “tool” makes a considerable amount of sense. One of our roles as educators is to prepare students for their lives outside and beyond school – they will without a doubt end up using a cell phone at some point. My counter to this would be that cars are also a way of life in our society, and we know that the large majority of our students will end up owning and operating one someday, yet we don’t provide that tool or training for it until a person reaches the age of sixteen, as we have decided that age is the appropriate time for a person to “learn the rules of the road”. Perhaps we as a society, parents, and teachers should give pause to what the appropriate age is for cell phone use, and specifically cell phone use at school. We provide driver training to tenth graders, whereas we do not provide it to students in elementary school. As such, appropriate age considerations should be made. This article makes some interesting arguments in favour of allowing cell phones in school that range from saving the environment, promoting independence, cost savings, and teaching digital literacy. That said, while the arguments presented make sense and are likely to resonate with most individuals, they do not appear to be research based in nature. Similarly this article here from the British Journal of Education Technology provides a compelling case for banning mobile phones in the classroom, however, it is not research based either. Like many things in education, I believe that the decision to ban cellphones in the classroom should be left up to the individual teacher and their professional judgement. There may be instances where it makes sense to ban the phones, and there may be circumstances where it makes sense to utilize them. This of course is not much different than most other things in education – we must trust that the teacher knows what works best for their individual teaching styles, assigned curriculum, and of course the needs of their students. A one size fits all approach is rarely useful or successful.
8 Comments
Leona Stephen
6/9/2022 04:32:08 pm
With technology changing so much at what feels like a rapid pace it seems harder and harder to decide what is the right choice. Ten years ago I would have said we got this we can handle the cell phone - today I about ready to have a complete ban in my room despite knowing what benefits they can have to learning opportunities. My concerns about it not being a blanket decision by the school or a division is that we start to peg teachers against each other and not have a unite front. If one doesn't allow them does that make them the bad or disliked teacher over the colleague down the hall.
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Christopher Kampman
6/12/2022 01:07:49 pm
Hi Leona,
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Bret McMann
6/10/2022 08:26:13 am
Chris - great post! I was on the disagree side for this debate, but like you, I struggle with this topic daily. One day I want to put the effort in to utilize thes devices, and the next I want to smash every single phone in the classroom. My new mindset is that, these devices are not going anywhere so maybe it is time for us to embrance them with open arms??
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Christopher Kampman
6/12/2022 01:10:03 pm
Thanks Brett! I like that mindset - "if you know it is going to be a thing, you might as well work with it". But then I catch myself wondering, if it is making things worse, maybe I shouldn't work with it. One thing is for certain, and that is that the predicament isn't going anywhere fast!
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Karen Anderson
6/12/2022 09:18:36 am
Thanks for the thoughts, Chris. I agree that we need to look at age appropriateness. When I taught 3-5 cell phones were a nonissue.
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Christopher Kampman
6/12/2022 01:13:10 pm
Hi Karen!
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Tracy Krenbrink
6/13/2022 08:54:50 am
I agree it's a loaded question and we all have previous experiece that is likley swaying us one way or another. I like your point that we need to consider what the appropriate age is for cell phones and provide training but I am not sure we would ever find a consensus on the right age. I think it would help if there was a digital literacy/digital citizenship curriculum in middle years that was mandatory for students.
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I think that more universal policies need to be in place, whether at the division level or at the very least the school level. It's really tricky to explain to middle years kiddos why they can't use their phone in the same way that the other class can, and why. I am for using phones in the classroom with rules, regulations and moderation--and obviously for an educational purpose for sure.
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