Seeing recent blog posts and tweets about this topic has placed it on my mind (again). In my mind, I’ve been mulling around the topic of cell phones in school. I looked back to find that I have blogged about this once already. In that blog, I listed some of the pros and cons and stayed away from stating an opinion.
Let me preface my opinion by saying that this isn’t an black/white, right/wrong issue. Smart cell phones ARE very powerful computing tools and can absolutely be used for countless educational purposes. They can also be a huge distraction and can be abused. So, if your school district is promoting or preventing the use of cell phones, they aren’t alone on either side of the aisle. To bolster your opinion or find a differing opinion, there are many search results to be perused. I’ve really enjoyed reading various opinions on this issue at Helium’s web site. If you’re looking for a clearinghouse for well-articulated opinions on this topic, this seems like a good place to start.
At the risk of being labeled as “behind the times”, I’ll state that I am not a proponent of widespread cell phone instructional use in schools. I’ve read many articles for and against their use and, as I said, I have no problem with a school, district or CIO that promotes or is in favor of the use of these phones as part of instruction. Right now, though, I feel like this issue is one where the cart is trying to pull the horse. Most articles I read discuss the phones, their power and the countless ways one could use them. I would challenge districts and leaders to list their true educational needs first and then determine what tool best meets those needs.
A quick aside: Our state implemented student email several years ago. Every Kentucky school district has the ability to create email accounts for children 4th grade and above as needed for instruction. It was mandated. In reality, many districts chose not to implement student email or, if so, it was done on a very limited basis. When I talked to CIOs about this, I heard that the teachers weren’t ready, the instructional need wasn’t there and that students were creating many discipline issues with the emails that were being sent. Some principals were adamant that the best solution was to disable email for students, as the discipline issues were outweighing the benefits of an email account.
I see this as a similar debate. The biggest concern I’ve seen is with the ability of the teachers to effectively manage these devices in the classroom. There should be little debate that cell phones are a distraction. Many states (and I’d say Kentucky will be one soon) have laws against distracted driving. We acknowledge that cell phones are a distraction while driving. Even with proper education, are we prepared to say that they won’t be a distraction to learning?
Yes, you say, but kids today are different. They can multitask. Can they? I’ll admit it – I sometimes use the Internet as a diversion. I’m not alone. I’ll also admit that there were times in school that I wanted every diversion I could find. I’m being cynical and will acknowledge that many students are on task and using the Internet effectively, but I’ve seen too many proxy logs to believe that the “diverted” population is miniscule. I suppose my point is that, if we can’t keep our users on task with the tools and measures in place today, why do we believe teachers can keep a roomful of students on task when they have their own very small device in front of them.
Should we punish everyone, then, for the mistakes or opinions of a few? We’ve done exactly that in other areas. Why do we have dress codes? Why do we ban certain books? We block certain web pages for reasons beyond the explicit. There are debates about teaching evolution vs. creation. We have drug checks on campuses. We have security cameras on school buses and throughout many buildings. In many areas of school life, issues have bubbled up and it has led to a restrictive policy for any number of areas. Maybe we’re being overprotective at times, but a few of the items above boil down to a distraction from learning. For now, I’ll stay on this side of the fence on the large scale, with the understanding that certain schools and districts may find ways to keep this from being such a distraction.
Excellent post, Jody. Thank you for sharing and putting your thoughts on this subject out there for all of us to read and think about.
One thought I had while reading this is that if a classroom or school or district already has a well developed digital citizenship culture (staff and students), then widespread cell phone use will likely be used well for instruction.
Good point on establishing a culture, Jeff. There's at least one nearbly high school that allows the use of cell phones during the instructional day. I've spoken to the principal and he discussed the large drop in the number of discipline issues he's seen since the modified policy allowing the use of the phones.
I was hesitant to post anything, as I don't want to come across as blindly against the use of these devices. Your point is absolutely correct that, in the right school culture, these can be used effectively. To me, it (that permeating school culture) still feels more like the exception than the rule, though.
There are several really good opinions on the Helium page I linked. I recommend those for some good reading on the subject. I'll say this – it's definitely a hot topic!
Since we are talking about opinions only… I would also add that we all know the only SMART policies are those that all are willing to enforce and have the ability to enforce. Banning cell phone use… Really? Every principal I have talked to admits that it is impossible. The only suggestions they have are to allow cell phone jammers, which we all know is illegal and would be a technical solution to non technical problems. That usually is not good for anyone. To me this conversation is not like student email violations, this is more like dress code violations. True or false? Students have to wear clothes to school… So now let's shape what we want that to look like and help students make better decisions. If you do not have a school dress code… who knows what you are going to get. The next step would be to treat it like a mandatory uniform (all kids must have this type of smart phone and be able to do these things with it while in school). Jody 2.0 – another great conversation.
Marty, continuing your example… When we mandate the type of smart phone all kids must have, do we mandate Internet access (allowing them to bypass district-installed filters, difficult to manage in the classroom, etc) or do we mandate no Internet access (which seems useless and would not be followed, could not be enforced, etc)
We're not going to search every child for weapons, pills or poker chips – yet there may be policies against having them in school.
Good conversation, Marty. I agree that we have to help students make better decisions but, in some cases, the better decision may be to not allow distractions from learning and to have policy prohibiting certain things.
A follow up on Marty's point. We aren't really doing a great job on the clothing problem either.