Dominic Asprinio
Banning mobile phones in schools?
The article is showing the problems with banning mobile phones in all contexts from schools. While the use of this type of technology can do some very powerful things, it can be misused which is why many schools do not approve of having smartphones on campus while the school day is in session.
The first article of reference is written by a professor in Australia and instead of just banning smartphones, there should be a limit on their uses in schools and policies should be in place so they can be used in the instructional process. This is a much more effective policy to allow the use of this technology because there have been other cases where this policy did not last and the rule had to be reversed. An example of this occurred in New York City where the ban started in 2006 and then was lifted in 2015. “First, it was clear the New York ban was being inconsistently enforced by schools—with better-resourced schools in more affluent areas more likely to bend the rules and permit student use. In contrast, schools in lower-income areas with metal detectors were more likely to rigidly enforce the ban. Other motivations for lifting the ban were concerns over student safety such as the need for students to contact family members during break times and lunchtimes.” (Selwyn, 2022)
As I am working in a Title 1 school, I do see how this ban could affect students who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. If the schools in the more affluent areas do not have metal detectors, many students would get away with bringing their smartphones to school so the ban would not be fair to all the students in the district.
The other reason for lifting the ban that was discussed in the article does not seem like a reason that the ban should be removed. The author mentioned that the students would need to contact their family members if there was an emergency. However, if there was a problem the parents could easily just call the school, and then the office could inform the students.
Smartphones in the Classroom
The next article that was researched was that smartphones can be an asset to the learning of students, but many universities do not allow the use of smartphones in their schools. There is evidence that students have benefited from using language apps during their course of studies. The effects of a smartphone application use in a language communication teaching context and the results showed that students had experienced an improvement in their communicative language skill from the use of the smartphone app (Wali & Omaid, 2020). This also caused them to lower their stress level which is a very positive thing. The article examined that older professors were less reluctant to allow the use of smartphones in their classes.
Out of the survey participants interviewed, the younger professors did accept that smartphones could be used only in certain situations, such as notetaking, video recording, or using a camera, but when it came to accessing social media platforms almost 70% of the faculty said that they would not allow it. It does show that students will be motivated in the class and can help to improve their work in class.
In conclusion, my opinion is that banning smartphones is not only difficult to enforce, but it also has beneficial effects on the learning process of the students in all grade levels. With the addition of new technology being introduced daily, keeping to the archaic rule of not being able to use phones in class is a poor decision.
References:
- Selwyn, Neil. “Banning mobile phones in schools: beneficial or risky? Here’s what the evidence says.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
- Ahmad, Z. W., & Mohammad, E. O. (2020). The Use of Smartphones as an Educational Tool in the Classroom: Lecturers’ Perceptions. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (Online), 15(16), 238-247.