A
few months ago I was watching the news on television when one of the topics
that came up was cell phones in the class room. At the time I didn’t pay a lot
of attention to it but over the past few weeks I find myself going back and
thinking about what I watched that one night. I went out in search of the news
article and found it on the Globe and Mail website. I found this article very
interesting. It talks about more than one side to the issue of kids using cell
phones in schools instead of either agreeing with it, or disagreeing.
One
of the issues discussed in this article is that cell phones, Facebook and
Twitter are all things kids know and can use very well. There are some teachers that are starting to
realize that these forms of technology can be used as a good education tool,
not just for research purposes but also to make kids more engaged and for them
to have more fun. To me that sounds like a brilliant idea. Especially because
the way that it work in the school is not to have the phones out at all times,
but during designated times when the phones can be useful. As time goes on and
more and more gadgets are made I think it’s a wonderful idea to find ways to
add to the classroom setting, especially if kids are using them anyway.
Another
thing mentioned is how these technologies can be a distraction, and how one
school even managed to make the school a cell phone dead zone. While it is easy
to see how cell phones can be a distraction I think if used properly they won’t
be. Like the article said the phones won’t always be used, and not as a way to
text friends in other rooms, but for school work. I think when the kids are
allowed to use their devices in such a way it takes away from them using them
as a distraction.
Technology in class is something that we have talked about in class a few times. During our "idea high school" activity is one of the times it was discussed the most, and even amoung our class the topic was somewhat controversial. Although the use of cell phones has proven to be a controversial topic I’m sure it is something that we will hear more and more about over the years. Personally I think it’s not a bad idea. If it’s a way to get children to be interactive and to have more interest in school then I see it having more benefit than harm to children and their education.
Technology in class is something that we have talked about in class a few times. During our "idea high school" activity is one of the times it was discussed the most, and even amoung our class the topic was somewhat controversial. Although the use of cell phones has proven to be a controversial topic I’m sure it is something that we will hear more and more about over the years. Personally I think it’s not a bad idea. If it’s a way to get children to be interactive and to have more interest in school then I see it having more benefit than harm to children and their education.
I have to politely disagree with your opinion on the whole 'cell phone in the classroom' debate. I see no purpose for cell phones in the classroom. I know personally, I cannot talk to someone in person and text at the same time, and everybody that I know, cannot do the same as well. It is like trying to hold two conversations at once. When I am with someone and they are constantly on their phones, I find it so disrespectful and annoying, so I can't even imagine what it is like to be a teacher and have a class of 25 students sitting there with their phones under the table texting. I found an article and news clip online from last year about this same issue. Here's the link: http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110505/Toronto-cellphones-tdsb-school-classrooms-hallways-vote-ban-110505/20110505/?hub=TorontoNewHome
ReplyDeleteI agree with the points made here about texting in the hallways and on breaks as being OK, but in class, I think phones should be shut off. I see your point about technology changing and that it could be used for school work, but realistically, how could it be used for school work? Any research the student needs to do can be done on a computer. Only a very small amount of practical classroom use will come from cell phones in class. I don't think cell phones make people more interactive at all. I think it makes people more distanced because it gives them an excuse to not see one another, they can just text each other all day. To truly make students more interactive, they should close the books and shut off the phones and have a class discussion, like we often times do. Hope I don't sound too argumentative because I completely respect your opinion, this is just something I am passionate about and if/when I become a teacher, I will have a strict no cell phone policy. Sometimes I just think I am too old fashioned and I am the one who needs to adjust to the way the world is changing!