Cell phones possession in schools

Photo by Thomas Favre-Bulle on Flickr. In the battle for the hearts and minds of students, the front line for educators has changed over the last couple of decades.

Cell phones in school - List | Diigo

According to eSchool News, a group of parents were so outraged by this ban that they have taken legal action against leaders, and they are suing the city for violating student rights to possess cell phones: As technology has become more accessible for all students, however, parents and students assert that phones are now essential tools that enhance safety and communication: On a day-to-day basis, they are disruptive to the educational environment.

This also has been the general position of many school districts over the years. Ringing cell phones can disrupt classes and distract students who should be paying attention to their lessons at hand. Text message has been used for cheating. And new cell phones with cameras could be used to take photos of exams, take pictures of students changing clothes in gym locker areas, and so on.

Many teachers seem to accept this reasoning, little knowing about the data on multitasking and its deleterious effects on concentration and the ability to think clearly. But thinking clearly doesn't seem to be one of the principal objectives in our high schools -- for the teachers or the administrative staff, much less for the students themselves.

After all, this is a generation that is used to being entertained. Attention spans are short. During a block period -- which is two regular minute periods back-to-back -- some teachers cajole their students to do some work during the first hour, and then promise them time to do whatever they want at the end, just to keep them from disturbing others.

In some cases, schools have actually embraced cell phones and incorporated them into their teaching. The educational benefits of cell phones have been argued as follows by various education writers: They give students a chance to collaborate with each other, or connect with peers in other countries.

Marc Prensky They can be used for high-tech alternatives to boring classroom lectures, letting kids take part in interactive assignments like classroom polls.

Kevin Thomas They can serve as notepads or as an alarm for setting study reminders. Lisa Nielsen They can be recording devices, letting students record impressions during field trips and create audio podcasts and blog posts.

Liz Kolb However, none of these supposed advantages can overcome one very basic disadvantage: Cell phones distract students from schoolwork and class activities.

Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day. According to the Pew study, "Older teen girls ages And this activity is much harder to regulate than traditional note-passing.

So what's the solution? Do teachers simply need to crack down harder, to impose harsher penalties against extracurricular texting and Internet surfing?

Or are the cell phones themselves a symptom of a larger problem? An observer walking into an American school might notice the noise -- not only the talking and shouts among students during their hourly migrations between classrooms, but in the classrooms as well.

Silence in class is an all-too-rare phenomenon. If the teacher isn't talking or an instructional video isn't playing, there's likely to be the incessant talking of students among themselves.

All in all, there is lots of Sturm and Drang, not enough contemplative thinking and learning.Schools across the country have different approaches to the possession and use of personal technology on school grounds.

Some schools celebrate cell phones as a powerful new classroom tool, while others deem them ADD-inducing disruptive machines. In March , an appellate court ruled that “the Chancellor reasonably determined that a ban on cell phone possession was necessary to maintain order in the schools.” New York schools are not unique.

A ban on cell phones in the nation's biggest school system is creating an uproar among parents and students alike, with teenagers sneaking their phones inside their lunches and under their clothes.

Should students be allowed to use cell phones in school? | yunusemremert.com

Student Cell Phones Should Be Prohibited in K Schools By Jon Akers, Kentucky Center for School Safety L et me begin by saying that I am acutely aware that my position on the issue of allowing students to have cell phones in their possession at school, during school hours, is a minority opinion, of controlling student cell phones in schools.

Tech — Judge to NYC public school students: No cell phones for you! An appeals court has upheld the law banning cell phone possession in New . According 2 me cell phones must b aiiowed in schools as now a days the teenages of the new generation dont like 2 ask any1 4 their cells.

They feel that it is a matter of shame. Again we all know that cell phones consists of different things such s calculator,net,maps,webs,camera music and so many other facilities.