Nowadays whenever you walk down the street you see people and children looking at their phones or tablets. This brings along a common question we have in schools today, “Do cellphones have a place in the classroom?” The answer to this question is not a simple yes or no. Cellphones can be beneficial in a classroom, though there are disadvantages as well. In order to keep cellphone use in the classroom beneficial there needs to be a fine line of when a cellphone should be utilized. I want to discuss when cellphones should be used in the classroom to aid students and when they should be kept out of sight.

Firstly, phones can be used in the classroom as a means of “note-taking”. Some students learn better by listening, so with phones students are able to record lessons to listen to later. This can be helpful to some students and there are minimum distractions from the cellphone since the student leaves it on top of their desk.  Students are also able to utilize this recording later to review when studying for a test or quiz. This can also assist other classmates; if a student missed a day of school and another student recorded the lesson they have the ability to share the recording with their peer.

Another way to utilize cellphones in the classroom would be for online quizzes or group activities. A great app that can be used as an assessment during class is Kahoot! Kahoot is an excellent way to keep track of your students’ progress in lessons during class time. Students answer and the scores are given immediately, making it easy for a teacher to assess students who understand the lesson and those who made need more direction. Being that it is fun and interactive it doesn’t seem like a type of assessment to students. Quizzlet is another great app to use; students are able to use it to find quizzes made by their teacher or make they can make their own. This could also be made into a fun class activity, where the teacher breaks the class into various groups and each group makes their own quiz. After, students can take the various quizzes they made to review the material. These are some of the great opportunities where cellphones can be applied in the classroom, now to look at the disadvantages.

As we all know cellphones can be very distracting, students can easily be on their phone using an educational app and then go onto social media or a game. This is why teachers should keep the use to a minimum in order to avoid distracting students. Another disadvantage is that not all students have cellphones. This can either be due to financial reasons or that their parents do not feel comfortable with their child having a phone yet. If there are cellphones out to often this can cause some students to feel excluded from their classmates.

Another reason phone use should be kept to a minimum in the classroom is to try and avoid texting in class and cyber bullying. Texting in class can be very distracting and disruptive; it can interfere with students learning, so we as teachers need to be vigilant. When students have the opportunity to use their phones they can be using it for bad and not good, with limited phone use we can try our best to minimize texting and cyber bullying. These are some of the disadvantages of having cellphones present in the classroom; these factors influence the fact that we need to make sure that cellphones are only used in the classroom for educational purposes.

Overall, cellphones are a very apparent factor in our everyday lives and it is difficult to keep them completely out of the classroom. So to make the best out of this we can find times to utilize cellphones effectively in class to aid students in their learning. As teachers we need to make sure we draw the line of when cellphone use is appropriate, so students can learn their best and can avoid distractions.

Technology has grown so much in our society and classrooms, taking over a major part of people’s lives. Even though technology is important and can be utilized in many different ways in the classroom, I do not believe it will eliminate the need for print resources. It may seem with google and the internet that we have all the information we can think of at our fingertips, but this does not lessen the importance of print sources. The information or quality of information we may not be able to obtain from technology is still highly significant making paper resources important and necessary in a classroom. There are many factors that make it critical for classrooms to have both technology and paper resources in order to make the learning environment more successful.

As we all know there is the ability for students to access online textbooks, this is easy and convenient, but the use of online source for reading materials may not benefit all students. Personally, I need a hard print of a textbook or reading in front of me in order to succeed best, and there are many people and students who feel the same way. I have difficulty looking at screens for long periods of time, and this is a common problem that can come from too much screen time and an overuse of technology. It is important to create a limit of computer screen time for students and if they are only able to access a book online this could create problems in the future. The Harvard Health letter writes, “Computer vision syndrome results from staring at a screen for long periods of time. That can lead to two problems.” The first problem is dry eyes which are the result of lack of blinking; this can cause both blurry vision and discomfort. The second problem is that it can cause eye strain. Even though these things are easily cured they can be avoided by not having an excessive amount of screen time, making paper resources a significant factor in and out of the classroom.

Another reason that we need paper resources is that online resource may not always be the most reliable source of information. There are many ways to find reliable sources online, though not all students take the time to do this. This could affect their success in class and it could cause the students to gain information that may not be fully accurate. With a print resource we know who the author is which makes the source more reliable. It is also important for students to use print resources because not all information from old print books can be found online so students should be able to navigate them.

There is also the factor that when students research or have class strictly online it is an easy way to cause distractions. They are able to open up new tabs and get distracted by social media, a show they may want to watch, or games. When a print source is in front of them it makes it difficult for students to get distracted. Another problem with online resources is that they are not always free. This could be a conflict for young students making it more difficult to access certain information they may need.

Lastly, it is also important that students have print books for reading, especially those who are just learning how to read. It is easier and more beneficial for students to have a book in their hands that they can read and use their finger to guide themselves. It can be more difficult to read for long periods of time on a computer screen as I have discussed above. It also helps keep students more focused because as I explained above technology can easily cause distractions. Students should be learning the benefits of reading books that aren’t on a computer screen.

In a classroom all of these factors are significant and in my opinion having paper resources is part of a classroom environment. If students had laptops out all day it would disrupt the flow of a classroom. It would also take away the more personal factor of a teacher interacting with students since the computer screens would be used so often. Print resources are an essential part of a classroom environment and they should be utilized alongside technology to maximize student learning.

References

Harvard Health Publishing. “Electronic Screen Alert: Avoid This Vision Risk.” Harvard Health, http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/electronic-screen-alert-avoid-this-vision-risk.