The Journal that I read was by Cathleen Norris and Elliot Soloway. Almost always cell phones are seen as a disruptive technology that can easily frustrate school faculty. Norris and Soloway argue that cell phones need to be seen as a learning device and be taken advantage of instead of treated as an annoyance. Once educators start thinking of cell phones as a computer their purpose will begin to turn around. “We need to use the tools of the 21st century to teach 21st century skills and content,” says Norris and Soloway. The digital divide is growing less and less because of the now conceivable thought that every American has a cell phone.
In July the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, said that “Yes, K12 needs to integrate cell phones into its classrooms.” One example of education using cell phones is in the College of Nursing here at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Once accepted into the program all students are required to have a blackberry. This is just one step toward the greater picture of cell phone usage in schools. Cell phones are an important part of daily life and majority of people could not imagine life without it. Norris and Soloway make a point to state that “Teenagers in the United Kingdom prefer to spend their money on cell phones rather than cigarettes.” That is a staggering statement that technology plays such an important part of our lives.
This article can be viewed by visiting www.districtadministration.com and then typing Leadership + Mobile Technologies = Educational Benefits in the search box.
My final question is, as a future educator how do you feel that cell phone usage in the classroom will have an impact on students and on the teacher?
I feel it will be more common for more students to have cell phones at all grade levels. I do not think it is appropriate for the students to have their cell phones on during class though.
ReplyDeleteI think it will be very common for students of all ages to have cell phones, but we can implement policies that do not allow them in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteRachel
I definitely think that cell phones in the classroom would be disruptive. There is no way to regulate whether the student is using internet on their phone as a resource, or to text, or go on youtube. There are too many other possibilities on phones that are too irresistible to a bored student. I will definitely be against this policy if it ever comes my way.
ReplyDeleteAs a music future music teacher, I really do not feel that cell phones will have a place in my classroom. Students will undoubtedly have these devices, however during class (in my classroom) their use would be inappropriate. I really need to use time wisely with rehearsals and covering other standards; if I were to incorporate them at all, it would be for an activity outside of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI see students at younger and younger ages with cell phones. I had a child in my four year old preschool class that I taught at a child care center bring in a cell phone one day. I think that if any student in my classroom has a cell phone, they will have to stay in their backpacks out in the hallway. I do not want my students distracted by phone calls and texting throughout the day. I will also keep my phone out of sight and not use it while class is in session. I think it will only continue to be a bigger problem, but I will deal with it as it comes.
ReplyDeleteI think that cell phones in the classroom are a distraction and should not be allowed. The youngsters don't understand this so as educators, we have to tell them to keep them off and hidden away. Cell phones will simply be an annoyance at times that will have to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteNO CELL PHONES IN THE CLASSROOM!!!!! This would be a huge distraction, take away from the engagement and academic time in class, and undoubtedly, kids would be texting.
ReplyDeleteI feel that allowing cell phones in class is a very bad idea. They are very distracting! I am always tempted to just sit through class and text a friend. I feel that nothing would get done in a class full of children with cell phones!
ReplyDeleteI do not think cell phones should be allowed in the classroom. I don't think a teacher would be able to regulate who is actually using their phones for school and who is using them for social reasons. I believe allowing cell phones in the classroom for the purpose of getting each student on the Internet would be a very bad idea.
ReplyDeleteCell phones so far, are seen as a distraction in classrooms. I have seen middle school students adrift in "lala" land, unable to concentrate, as they just cannot wait to get out of the room and check their phone for a call from 'him' or 'her'. I can see that a phone could be a useful tool in class if the teacher carefully handles the assignment and does not let the students get off track. To have instant access to difficult vocabulary words or to look up historical events or personages can be invigorating to a classroom discussion or project situation.
ReplyDeleteCell phone usage by students in the classroom is only a bad thing and is a problem that needs to be wiped out. There are too many students using there cell phones during class including college students. I think this is another way that students today have learned to be disrespectful.
ReplyDeleteCell phones distractions are just symptoms of other issues like classroom management and boring classes. If students did not have cell phones they would find another way to have fun.
ReplyDeleteCell phones could provide a way to search for information when not every student or group can use a computer. Whether or not that ability is important enough to allow the extra possibility for distraction depends on the goals of the lesson.
I think that students are getting cell phones at younger and younger ages. I am against the usage of cell phones in classes, because I think that they are an extra distraction. Most students will use their phones to text during class and there have been many problems in middle schools with text-bullying and inappropriate picture texts. On computers, schools can monitor websites that students use, but the school cannot monitor a students cell phone if they have access to the Internet.
ReplyDelete