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.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Cell Phones in School? The debate goes on...
I guess it's a 'feeling' I have. Maybe it's some articles I've read lately about recent updates to cell phone policies in Jessamine and Henderson counties. I see friends and co-workers blog and tweet about their devices or the latest apps for their devices. I have blogged and tweeted about cell phone signal boosters as well as the federal laws against jamming cell phone signals. If you found your way here searching for the answer, I'll report that I don't have it. I will say this, though. We need to have a healthy respect for both sides of the debate, no matter which side on which we find ourselves.
Why on Earth should we allow this? Vicki Davis does a good job of making the case in her blog. Before reading her thoughts, I hadn't considered the comparison between scissors (not allowed on airplanes but allowed in school) and cell phones (allowed, at some level, almost everywhere while being discouraged or denied in most schools). She also mentions safety, ease of information access and makes the assumption that we're "fighting a losing battle" because of the demands of parents.
I think we're all familiar with the concerns about cell phone use in class. Equity of access should be very high on that list. As a frame of reference, my personal cellular phone has no data plan and only the most basic of texting plans. My work cellular phone has a data plan, but no texting plan. Not every student would have a cell phone and I can only assume that this would hinder their educational use in some of the same ways that we've seen with computers for some (versus ALL) of the students. We've seen news articles related to cheating on exams, videoing or photographing inappropriate things, and any number of text-related issues, including but not limited to student/staff relationships and boundaries being crossed (find your own link here, they're all too common).
As I stated earlier, one thought running through my mind is that both sides have valid points. I've read several articles, along with comments following those articles. Many writers and comment posters argue their point without at least acknowledging the validity of the opposing viewpoint. State law requires that districts have a policy on the possession and use of personal telecommunications devices, so school districts have a right and responsibility to address this in some fashion.
It's a complex issue and I don't want to pretend to oversimplify the matter, but I keep coming back to one theme when I think about issues such as this one or Internet filtering. Much of the controversy centers around what I'm going to call "time on task".
I was a good student, but I wasn't particularly interested throughout Algebra II class. If I had possessed a cell phone with Internet access or some similar technology, I would have been very tempted to avoid focusing on the class. Was this due to the content? Was it due to an ineffective teacher? Was I a poor student for being so easily distracted? Whatever the case, students today are often going to drift off-task if given the chance. They did it in my day as well, perhaps with note-passing or games of paper football.
I'd say teachers today have it tougher than in times past, due in large part to the increased number and types of distractions available. Students have grown up multi-tasking, absorbing information in soundbytes and with a constant need to be entertained (since they're being marketed to in the same constant fashion and via all sorts of media). There's pressure on schools to change and to embrace this world where knowledge is at our fingertips and learning may need a focus on the ability to properly discern and apply the knowledge available.
I'll avoid that rant for now, but suffice to say that this is a very timely topic and worthy of consideration. We should take an honest look at where our stakeholders are: students, teachers, administration, parents and community. Keeping our content relevant and keeping our classrooms on the task of learning is a challenge made (easier or tougher or both, insert word here as needed) by the access we're afforded to current technology.
Why on Earth should we allow this? Vicki Davis does a good job of making the case in her blog. Before reading her thoughts, I hadn't considered the comparison between scissors (not allowed on airplanes but allowed in school) and cell phones (allowed, at some level, almost everywhere while being discouraged or denied in most schools). She also mentions safety, ease of information access and makes the assumption that we're "fighting a losing battle" because of the demands of parents.
I think we're all familiar with the concerns about cell phone use in class. Equity of access should be very high on that list. As a frame of reference, my personal cellular phone has no data plan and only the most basic of texting plans. My work cellular phone has a data plan, but no texting plan. Not every student would have a cell phone and I can only assume that this would hinder their educational use in some of the same ways that we've seen with computers for some (versus ALL) of the students. We've seen news articles related to cheating on exams, videoing or photographing inappropriate things, and any number of text-related issues, including but not limited to student/staff relationships and boundaries being crossed (find your own link here, they're all too common).
As I stated earlier, one thought running through my mind is that both sides have valid points. I've read several articles, along with comments following those articles. Many writers and comment posters argue their point without at least acknowledging the validity of the opposing viewpoint. State law requires that districts have a policy on the possession and use of personal telecommunications devices, so school districts have a right and responsibility to address this in some fashion.
It's a complex issue and I don't want to pretend to oversimplify the matter, but I keep coming back to one theme when I think about issues such as this one or Internet filtering. Much of the controversy centers around what I'm going to call "time on task".
I was a good student, but I wasn't particularly interested throughout Algebra II class. If I had possessed a cell phone with Internet access or some similar technology, I would have been very tempted to avoid focusing on the class. Was this due to the content? Was it due to an ineffective teacher? Was I a poor student for being so easily distracted? Whatever the case, students today are often going to drift off-task if given the chance. They did it in my day as well, perhaps with note-passing or games of paper football.
I'd say teachers today have it tougher than in times past, due in large part to the increased number and types of distractions available. Students have grown up multi-tasking, absorbing information in soundbytes and with a constant need to be entertained (since they're being marketed to in the same constant fashion and via all sorts of media). There's pressure on schools to change and to embrace this world where knowledge is at our fingertips and learning may need a focus on the ability to properly discern and apply the knowledge available.
I'll avoid that rant for now, but suffice to say that this is a very timely topic and worthy of consideration. We should take an honest look at where our stakeholders are: students, teachers, administration, parents and community. Keeping our content relevant and keeping our classrooms on the task of learning is a challenge made (easier or tougher or both, insert word here as needed) by the access we're afforded to current technology.
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