Cell_Phones_in_Schools

Cell phones in schools by Phil Starn on May 15, 2006 [pic] X Welcome Googler! If you find this page useful, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic. You were searching forPosts relating to "mobile phone should be banned in school". See posts relating to your search »« Hide related posts • Cell phones in schools As cellular technology develops, some social debates erupt. It's been in the news for some time now and parents and... • The 28th Carnival of the Mobilists The 28th Carnival of the Mobilists is taking place this week at Digital Evangelist. The Carnival of the Mobilists features this... • Tips for better camera phone photography Pictures taken with a camera phone are usually of average quality, but there are a few tips to help with... • Free maps on your cellphone with Mobile GMaps and Google Maps Online maps such as Google Maps are very useful when you drive to a new place. I usually print the... • The 31st Carnival of the Mobilists is taking place at All About Symbian The Carnival of the Mobilists stops this week at All About Symbian. For the best articles on mobile technology, head over... As cellular technology develops, some social debates erupt. It’s been in the news for some time now and parents and children are protesting against it: the ban on cellular phones in schools. How should the matter of cell phones in schools be handled' Cellular phones in schools are a problem. Students are using them a lot and most of them couldn’t imagine living without a cellular phone. This brings the following issues: The Bad 1. Cell phones are a distraction – The students use short message service (SMS) and not everyone remember to turn off their phone during class. 2. Cheating – Students can share information during exams. They can also store any information they want on their cellular phone. 3. Invasion of privacy – Camera phones are very popular, and they are sometimes used in an inappropriate way in schools, for example in bathrooms. 4. Harassment – Text messaging is used as a form of harrasment or bullying. 5. Stealing – Mobile phones are usually worth over $100 and not every family can afford to buy one for their children. These two factors often lead to cell phone theft. One could argue that cheating has always been and will always be and that and bullying existed before cell phones came to schools. Cell phones only emphasize existing issues. The Good 1. Feeling of security – Knowing that your children are reachable anytime is quite reassuring for a parent, especially after events such as the Columbine shooting and the September 11th tragedy. 2. It brings families together – Families don’t seem to have much time to spend together anymore. With overtime and after-school activities, having the ability to communicate with any one of your family member helps bringing families together. 3. Cellphones are convenient – Everybody is more busy nowadays. Students are involved in activities after school, and practices and meeting time tend to vary a lot. It is very convenient for a student who does not have access to public transportation to call their parents for a ride when they need one. Again, one could say that parents should trust the school’s representatives with their children’s safety and that families should try to spend more time together instead of having to talk over electromagnetic waves. Yes, you can still live on without a cell phone. Most students use their phone responsibly. Instead of enforcing a ban, teach them how to use their mobile phone in society. That way, when they get out of school, they will be more aware of the people around them when they make or receive phone calls. I bet they will behave better than 75% of the adults with cell phones out there. New technologies are a part of our lives, and responsible use should be learned in school. [tags]Social Debate, Ban, Cell Phone Ban, School Ban, School, Cell Phone, Cellular Phone, Mobile Phone[/tags] Learning needs concentration. It requires the teacher to communicate the learning outcomes interestingly and effectively, in an inclusive way and for the learner to listen and interact to better their learning. Cell phones for some students simply cause distraction. The distraction of a cell phone not only disrupts the learning of the student whose cell phone it is, it potentially can disrupt the learning of other students as well. The sound of a ring tone or even a vibrating phone for anyone can cause an unnecessary disturbance. Someone sitting, sending and SMS or MMS, seeing that from the corner of your eye will distract you. It makes you start wondering who they are texting, why are they texting, what are they texting. And those sort of thoughts can get your mind wondering away from the task set by the teacher or make you shut off from a tutorial or instruction which could be essential for the learning of the class. [pic]If it can distract someone who is not using the phone then it must be causing ten times more distraction to the person using it. Constant thoughts about the conversation happening, what if they said the wrong thing, how are they going to respond. Before they know it, their mind is totally and solely focused on the conversation and simply are unable to concentrate on much more else. Cell phones have been used to humiliate both other students and even teachers. There have been instances when students have behaved really badly to enrage teachers and peers have filmed it on their camera and put it on You Tube or publicised it some other way. People's privacy needs to be protected especially in classroom situations. Mobile phones can exploit this and in doing so potentially damage and / or hinder the learning of students. Admittedly, like most behaviour which causes distraction and disruption in classrooms, people who cause distraction and are distracted by cell phones in the class are not the majority. There are those responsible students who will keep their phone on silent and not respond to it till their break or recess. Should these responsible students be punished like those who are not responsible' In this I wouldn't say it is a punishment, more just a way for it to be fair across the board that one rule is for all, so these students shouldn't feel they are getting punished. So it should include responsible students also should they become banned as you cannot easily, in a classroom environment, implement one rule for one student and not the other. Cell phones simply cause a potential detrimental affect on learning. By removing the potential by banning it from the classroom the problem has been solved. Learning simply improves with less distraction.