Put that phone away - or
can mobile phones be useful in the classroom?
There are huge arguments about allowing mobile phones in school. It has been discussed across the country and there is still hasn't been a final answer yet.
The teachers and students have different thoughts and
opinions about this topic. For example, students may think that it would be
helpful to use some of the tools that phones have. Most phones like iPhones and
Androids have many useful apps that could help students in their studies but there
are many students who actually use their phones not for studying purpose but they use it for other purposes as well such as playing games or use it as a
social network to communicate with others or check the news etc.
Teachers have different thoughts about it and they think
that it would be a total distraction to other students and to the lesson as
well. They think students won’t pay attention to the lesson while in fact they
put all their concentrations on their phones. Another reason which is if
someone was talking on the phone while the teacher is talking, it would be hard
for other students to listen and focus and it could also become a habit using
mobile phones during the lessons. It could also be a device that students can
use to allow them to cheat in their tests. There are many schools that got
policies of not using phones during the lesson otherwise they’ll just take it
and give it at the end of school day.
The reasons of why
students should be allowed to use their phones during their lessons?
Most
classrooms have got no more than one computer. Teachers may ask the students to
get a piece of information about something. Some of the students might use
books while the others would use their smartphones to access into their
internet in advance to get that piece of information. Many students have
planners in their phones which allow them to keep test information etc and it
would be very helpful especially to those students who got learning
disabilities and who would appreciate using reminders to remind them of stuff
that they might forget.
This video talks about students who are getting together to figure out ways to use cellphones in classrooms.
I agree with the first part of this blog. I think students shouldnt be allowed to use thier mobile phones in class. Yes there are some benefits to using mobile phones in class but I feel that the disadvantages outwieigh these points. For example, I believe cheating among tests would increase. If we start using phones in classrooms what's next? Exams?
ReplyDeleteIf i were to take a side in an argument on should or should we not allow phones in the classroom I think i would have to say phones should NOT be allowed in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteYou raised the point of using a smartphone to research the work but eventually wouldnt that mean people would always rely on their mobile phones to do their work for them? if we do allow phones in classrooms it will get to the point were no body listens and the lesson becomes about using a search engine to answer your questions. Therefore, no one is actually learning or furthering their knowledge. But by reading information from a book you have found yourself makes you value the information you found more and therefore you are more likely to remember it.
so they are the reasons why i believe mobile phones should NOT be allowed in a classroom. school is for education and not communicating on social network site.
I agree with you Lauren as well, but phone can be very useful during classes. there is a limit of course of using it which teachers must apply to every student. my overall opinion is that i think students should use their phone when they are allowed by their teachers..
ReplyDeleteAs i mentioned before Ellis, there are limits where student should take and apply to it and i agree that it could happen but we must consider that phones can be very useful when there are no technology around when needed..
ReplyDeleteI think we are relying on phones too much. you say if a teacher allows a phone to be used - why does a teacher need a phone to be used? surely they should be the educator in the lesson and not the mobile phone. people rely way too much on technology these days. Not just that but more than half of the class will be suing their mobile phones in a negative way and going straight on to social networking sites. I am all for social networking but not within education.
ReplyDeleteWe know how hard it is for teachers to control the class using thier phones when phones are banned. Wouldn't allowing phones to be used just create chaos? I agree with Ellis when he says that we will just rely on search engines and never really learn new things.
ReplyDeleteBut technology are very needed in education! For example, i believe that computers are important in education because they force us to reconsider how people learn. There is always an advantage of using technology while education for example, having computer in a classroom can serve as a tutor so lets say if there werent any computers left and someone needed information from the internet, dont u think using her/his phone would help a lot and keep up on date?
ReplyDeleteIm not saying that we always have to rely on technology but what Im trying to say is that they could be very helpful sometimes to use mobile phones when they are indeed needed when there is no other learning methods.
ReplyDelete