Cell Phones in School: Nuisance or Learning Tool Essay

Some can argue that cell phone use during school is highly uncivilized but it's extremely useful in many different ways and in different scenarios.Instead of viewing cellphones and other gadgets as negative additive distractions , we should view the positive side of celluar devices. Cell phones can help resolve issues and help make the school environment much easier, however do believe there should be restrictions , for instance not to use a phone while the teacher is having a discussion or teaching lesson. If a student can obey these rules and not use it in a disrespectful manner , then there should not be any issues. Cellular phones should be allowed in schools for threatening emergencies, to avoid double standards between teachers and students and most of all to help students with research purposes.

From personal experience, I can say that high school students are going to have cell phones in class regardless of the punishments associated with getting caught; the main reason is that they seldom get caught. With one teacher and roughly thirty students, it is easy to sneak by the teacher’s gaze and send a text message here or there or find the score to the big game that you missed. Michael Rich, pediatrician and media expert, says, “Pandora’s box is open here… What we need to do is take control of them instead of them control us” (Teachers vs. Texting). To help reduce these disruptions from occurring, we need to incorporate cell phones into high school classroom with the other technologies to promote interactive and kinesthetic learning.

Cell phones are distracting in school and disrupt learning. Students should always be giving their teacher their undivided attention. Cell phones in school create problems and they affect students’ grades. Although some may claim these reasons to be true, they are undeniably wrong. The proponents of cell phones should not be allowed in school argue, “We know for a fact that the use of cell phones on school property around the country has led to a number of problems around safety.” This is wrong because cell phone use on school grounds is only beneficial to individuals on and off school property. Cell phones do not necessarily prevent problems, but they do help in times of emergencies. They promote safety in situations such as school shootings or hostage situations. The proponents of cell phones should not be allowed in school also argue “Student’s whose minds wander during a lecture or discussion may find the temptation of texting instead of listening hard to resist.” While this is true, it is up to the student to pay attention. However, texting instead of listening is the same as doodling and not listening, or playing on a school issued laptop even after being told to put it away. It is up to the student to restrain from texting in class. The more schools put an emphasis on no phones in school the more

Sylvia McDonald’s “The effects and predictor value of in-class texting behavior on final course grades” discusses the negative correlation between cell phone use in schools and final grades through research, examples, and charts. McDonald states that while cell phones can be an excellent form of communication, they can oftentimes be a very big distraction. Studies were given to further support the argument. The researchers conducted a study that included three different colleges, all with different cell phone policies. The results of the study were very self evident. The study showed a negative correlation between the cell phone policy and the test average. The college with the most lenient policy tended to have the lowest test score. Overall, the author explains the relevance of cell phone use and how much of a

Have you ever heard of the gruesome Columbine High School massacre? This incident occurred on April 20th 1999 and involved two students embarking on a shooting rampage, killing twelve students, a teacher and wounding twenty three others. Unfortunately during this incident, the school 's most easily accessible phone was on the complete other side of the school in the library. Perhaps some of these lives could have been saved if the students in this class had cell phones that they could 've used to contact the authorities more quickly. The issue we are addressing today is the usage of cellular devices in educational facilities. Both Cameron and myself believe that cell phone usage is of extreme convenience, and has academically beneficial

The article “Lift the Cell Phone Ban”, David Rapp (2009) addresses cell phones more as a positive impact in classrooms because there are more social apps, reminders such as alarms and calendar events, and provide accessibility. Teachers let students use their cell phones for school purposes instead of being seen as a distraction. After an experiment using Bluetooth networking teachers realized information sharing provided as useful. Having teachers get out of the box intimidates some, but it would be a better idea to give the students a chance since it is a part of their everyday lives. The GoKnow program turns a cell phone into a valuable tool for teachers and students to use for educational purposes and easier to turn in documents. David

Many students have used their cell phones to share answers to tests and quizzes, and to report inaccurate and offensive information about other students and their school. Cell phones can be distractions in the school environment, evading classroom time and reducing student’s academic success.

cell phone rings on academic performance. After completing the study, they said, “Findings indicated that cell phone rings during a video presentation impaired academic performance. Specifically, participants in the ringing condition performed worse on disrupted test items and were less likely to have recorded pertinent test information” (End, Worthman, Matthews, & Wetterau, 2010, p. 55-57). The study shows that just the ringer on a cell phone alone can have an impact on how a student takes notes. However, not everyone thinks that cell phones are a bad idea. Authors Kevin Thomas and Blanche Obannon wrote an article titled ‘Cell Phones in The Classroom: Preservice Teachers’

Every teacher has a different policy on cell phone use in class. In past years, cell phones were essentially banned from classrooms while more recently teachers have been more lenient with their policy. Educational devices such as computers and online learning have been embraced by many school districts, while cell phones which offer the same effect on learning have been outlawed. Advancements in technology can provide students with a new learning tools where the learning tools will be used in the real world. Students who use cell phones to access research information are able to reach a wide variety of current information. Teachers are also able to teach students the proper way to use cell phones in a professional setting. Cell phones can also raise engagement levels in classes. In the article Cell Phones in the Classroom by George Engel and Tim Green, “There was an observable rise in class participation when cell phones were used in the class” (44). While cell phones were once considered a distraction, the way society uses cell phones has changed. Likewise, the purpose of cell phones has shifted from solely communication to a variety of benefits. Cell phones should be allowed in classrooms for educational uses because there are so many different ways to learn and study using them.

Many people believe that bringing cell phones to school may cause distractions. However, a recent study leads more and more people to believe that mobile phones could in fact be a “powerful learning tool” (Docksai), serving as a mobile computer ("Cell Phones in the Classroom” ). Elizabeth Hartnell- Young, a research fellow from the University of Nottingham tracked 331 students from 14 to 16 years old, for learning through cell phones. They used cell phones to make short videos, set homework reminders, record poems, and transfer files from home to school (Docksai). Students described their learning experience as “motivated” (Docksai). Many experts pointed out that students have a “deep comfort level” with mobile phones (Docksai). In other words, students could learn more if they enjoyed what they were doing. An increasing number of teachers have changed their point of view towards cell phones, many now believe that cell phones would exert positive effects on education. For example, some teachers have already started to collect homework online and answer questions through text- messaging. A school in Saskatchewan encouraged students to read and share thoughts about books through their cell phones (Docksai). Furthermore, according to a recent survey, the majority of students could refrain from using cell phones and not be distracted by them in class. In fact, over 71% of students didn’t

Many teachers believe that cell phones don’t belong in a classroom because there are several disadvantages. An example maybe a student who uses a cell phone in class has no intension in listening or paying attention to the teacher. This student has a short attention span who cares about socializing more than his/her education. Cell phones can be very disruptive; they can invade people’s privacy and can also be used as harassment or bullying. The usage of cell phones is creating a huge problem particularly when they are used in school.

One problem with cell phones in today’s society is that they have become major distractions. Cell phones are distracting employees in the workplace and are leaving them with their jobs halfway done. Everywhere in the business industries, the employees are hard at work re-tweeting and catching up on the latest newsfeed rather than managing their time more wisely. Not only are cell phones a distraction in the workplace, they are also a distraction and disruptive in school districts, causing students’ attention to be elsewhere. Many students would rather text in the middle of class instead of pay attention to what the teacher is reviewing. In this case, students do not gain the amount of education provided for them. In addition to cell phones being distracting, people often like to multi-task by walking or driving while texting. These things cause them to be unaware of their surroundings. Texting while driving has become a major issue because texting and driving can lead to car crashes which are often fatal. On the other hand, texting and walking isn’t too bad, but can cause a little bit of embarrassment. There are stories of people walking into walls and bumping into people or tripping over a table because their nose seems to be stuck in their phone. To some, being on their cell phone is more important than grades, clients, and others around them.

The next topic of discussion is cell phones in classrooms. The article being summarized is entitled The Only Thing We Have to Fear is…120 Characters. In this article, Kevin Thomas and Christy McGee (2012) make arguments for the use of cellphones in classrooms in spite of the fact that 69% have banned them. This paper responds to the many reasons for disallowing their use, and then it goes on to highlight some ideas about why cell phones should be used as educational tools. Both sides of the discussion certainly make valid points.

Smartphones have become a part of everyone’s body. Almost everything can be done through smart phones. Paying bills, doing grocery, buying food, and more time consuming tasks can all be done almost instantly by smartphones. Many jobs and institutions today do not allow the use of smartphones during a certain time, especially schools. Prohibition of cell phones in school is a good idea to prevent students from getting distracted. However, high school students should be allowed to access their cell phones at school, because high school students are mature enough to use their cell phones productively and beneficially. Having access to internet is very important to high school students. Many students could not afford to have all kinds of devices, such as laptop, tablets, and cell phones. Entirely banning the usage of cell phones can make students hate the school causing them to be more arrogant.

Cell phones and technology in general has advanced a lot over the last ten years. Allowing students to be able to take their phones or devices wherever they want in today’s society. Thus bringing forward the issue of cell phone distraction in the classroom.