Should Cell Phone Use be allowed in schools?

Do you guys think cell phones should be allowed for use in schools? I, for one, think they should. Cell phones open up a whole new world of learning for young, teen, and older minds. One of my teachers used cell phones to send things to the computers in his room, which i thought was pretty awesome. But on the down side, acid cell phone users ruin this privilege by using their phones to text friends in times where they shouldn't be used (i.e. Tests, during lectures, etc.) So, i've given my opinion, now it's your turn.

Not during class no.

It is of Pinkie Pie's opinion that all cellphones be confiscated upon the beginning of class and returned at the end, preventing students from dicking around across the network when they should be paying attention.

Originally Posted by Stone Mask

Cell phones open up a whole new world of learning for young, teen, and older minds.

I can't imagine a single instance where a cell phone could open up a whole new world of learning for young, teen, and older minds. I can think of a million instances where a cell phone would be used by young, teen, and older minds in order to distract and cheat.

no cellphones in class
and probably not at school at all

although we all know they're just going to keep them in their pockets

Not in class. You should be listening to the teacher or doing work in class.
Play with your little phones in recess.

Absolutely not.
What purpose would they serve? Kids wouldn't pay attention in class. They would instead, text their friends, use the internet, it would inhibit them.

Originally Posted by mattj

I can't imagine a single instance where a cell phone could open up a whole new world of learning for young, teen, and older minds. I can think of a million instances where a cell phone would be used by young, teen, and older minds in order to distract and cheat.

no cellphones in class
and probably not at school at all

although we all know they're just going to keep them in their pockets

actually, more and more apps are being developed for within educational settings. One I can think of for the Uni of Toronto, iirc, was concerning whether or not the class was confused over anything being discussed in the lecture.

A professor complained that many students were too embarrassed to hold up the class with a question at a point where they may not understand because it seems like everyone else is understanding and so the prof would need to explain it all again to them afterwards after redefining a point.

The app itself was relatively simple. It sends an anonymous notifier to your profs laptop and he can take the time to readdress the point he was making asking if it was clearer. The prof said he'd noticed an improvement in academic levels of his class after using it.

I don't think it's fair to dismiss all the technology that could be accessed from a mobile device as only available for cheating or for distraction. While I never personally had a cellphone within highschool, and this was from personal choice, I would not have been any more harmed from it than I would have from the fiction novels I carried with me and read throughout lessons as my teacher taught. If a student wants to ♥♥♥♥ around on facebook, okay, that's your choice if it impairs your ability to learn.

What is more concerning to me is when it impairs the ability of others to learn - a group of boys giggling around a laptop because of something they saw on funny junk is understandable to not having to want in a classroom environment. That is something that distracts the group. If someone wants to text his buddy about their plans for the weekend and all the noise they make is the keys of his phone being pushed, why should anyone care?

Originally Posted by Stone Mask

I, for one, think they should. Cell phones open up a whole new world of learning for young, teen, and older minds.

lol i find that statement to be hilarious. does that also exclude the ones who text while driving and cause accidents and deaths? im pretty sure they read articles on their phones about it so they should know better

In my school, the admins let go of the rule saying we can bring our phones to school and use them BUT not when a teacher is giving us a lecture, tests, exams, etc. Personally, worse thing that has happened to this school since the teachers lifted dress code a bit. Having a cell phone is a privilage but us teenagers abuse that privilage, most of the world is focused on their phone than what happens in the real world.

If schools would allow phones in school, and in during class, half of the student population would be illiterate

then again, its my opinion

I'm hoping that cell phones don't even become an issue until high school, so the rest of this post is going to be written with the assumption that I'm talking abou the later part of secondary education and tertiary schooling.

I don't think it should be something that the administration bothers itself with. High school is the point where you begin to build the foundation that dictates your options for the rest of your life. If someone is deemed mature enough be judged for their college placement and scholarship eligibility, I don't see a reason I should baby them when it comes to responsibility regarding electronics. It's a point where you're given a lot of ownership over your education and what comes from it, and if you would rather spend your time texting or playing Angry Birds rather then absorbing and mastering your coursework, then I think that's your prerogative. If you did spend your time texting rather than learning, I think it shows an impressive degree of apathy towards coursework - as long as your phone is on silent and it doesn't hinder your classmates, I don't see why a teacher should have to try to care about your education more than you yourself do (or don't).

I believe that, in primary and secondary education, that students should not be allowed to use their phones in class. However...

Originally Posted by mattj

I can't imagine a single instance where a cell phone could open up a whole new world of learning for young, teen, and older minds. I can think of a million instances where a cell phone would be used by young, teen, and older minds in order to distract and cheat.

no cellphones in class
and probably not at school at all

although we all know they're just going to keep them in their pockets

I know and/or regularly sit next to people who use their mobile devices to access my university's online note-and-notification-distribution network.

It totally depends on what kind of infrastructure and education methods the school in question has, but to throw a blanket on all schools and say "NO MOBILE PHONES" is a close-minded statement.

If a student wants to ♥♥♥♥ around on facebook, okay, that's your choice if it impairs your ability to learn.

I don't think many kids realise how important it actually is to pay attention in class. Hate to sound too strict and I don't want to restrain kids, but I think it's way too easy to give in to the temptation of Facebook - or ZU for the matter :3 - instead of doing what you don't feel like doing. This could be really negative in the long run and - even if it only affects, say, one person who was ignorant of this - it's still a loss.

(And you have no idea how many times I was warned for reading in class. :D)



I don't think cell phones should be banned completely; we can have our cell phones in the school, but we're not allowed to use them in class. That's fine. Kids can still use it in the breaks for social stuff, but when you are in the class, you are supposed to pay attention and I think a teacher is absolutely right to voice his/her concern and disapproval when he/she sees someone using a cell phone in class.

At the same time I support technology being involved in teaching and education, so I guess I'm yet again borderline.

Art a university level, provided cellphone use is not distracting to other students I have nothing against it. Once you're over 18, learning is your responsibility and the lecturer is under no responsibility to push you along. But certainly never in examination conditions, because of the threat of cheating.

Otherwise, the phone's translators, apps, calculators, word processors, power point processors etc etc are all useful and could be used in a class/lecture environment.




In primary and secondary I wouldn't want to see its use in class time unless directed by a teacher. Simply because it is the teachers responsibility to guide their students and make sure they learn. If the teacher decides that cell phone use during class time is counter productive, then so be it.

Out side of class, it is none of my business.

I agree that a cellphone usage in class causes more distraction than anything else, especially with today's social media and the easy access of it with a phone, most teens these days are almost addicted to that.

Altough there are indeed some apps that can aid in the education.

That's why I constantly see articles in the newspaper about schools purchasing several tablets to be used in class. They are monitored and restricted by the school, so they only contain usefull stuff. Despite that it costs way to much, this is all payed with taxes, I can see the benifit of this approach.

I don't care that people use them in class. It's their education. If they want to ignore the teacher, so be it. But most of the time, they distract others including me, so I am forced to care as they're obstructing my education.

Probably not. It would most likely distract kids from their classes, which is not good. If the grades get worse, especially.

To start off: never have I been distracted by other students texting in class or being on their laptop (provided the only sound is them typing). I'm more distracted by the teacher suddenly stopping their lecture and wasting my time by scolding and/or punishing the student using the technology.

I texted often in high school because most teachers were nothing more than a middle man between myself and the book. I got A's and B's and slept or texted or wrote or read during class.

In college, I only text when it's something that doesn't interest me whatsoever. For example, I would never even think of texting in my interdisciplinary science class because it interests me greatly. However, my Humanities class often has us watching movies or discussing things that don't interest me and won't be on a test, I'm also in the back of the room so sometimes I'll just text people or go on facebook.

Schools shouldn't outright ban cell phones, I think each teacher or professor should provide their own set of rules. It would include whether they can use it during lectures, or free time, all the time, never, etc.

Between classes and at lunch, no restrictions.

I personally think that the way my school handled phones was near perfect. We were allowed to have them in with us, so long as we didn't use them during class, and didn't use the cameras on them. However, if we were caught with them in class, they were confiscated until the end of the year, which I do not agree with. By all means, if a student is caught using a phone in class, confiscate it until the end of the class or the end of the day, but until the end of the year is a little overboard, and in many cases it was months before a student could get their phone back.

I don't really think it's reasonable to expect people to not have a mobile phone with them. I always have one with me in case of emergencies, and I reckon many parents would have their children have phones for that reason. I don't know about in other parts of the world, but here, pay phones are almost non-existent now, due to mobile phones taking over the need for them.

I also prefer the way my university is with phones over how my school was, but I also doubt the policy would work with school kids. At least in uni, we're all (semi-)responsible adults, and know we're ultimately responsible for our own learning.

Originally Posted by RobertStyx

However, if we were caught with them in class, they were confiscated until the end of the year, which I do not agree with. By all means, if a student is caught using a phone in class, confiscate it until the end of the class or the end of the day, but until the end of the year is a little overboard, and in many cases it was months before a student could get their phone back.

Most schools are serious when it comes to education- I wouldn't know about the schoolings in Europe cause I was always educated in the US. But, I agree that punishment is overly not acceptable, neither is the guidelines for getting a phone tooken up here: you get writen up, you pay 15 dollars, and a parent has to pick up the phone as well.


Most schools "really care" about a students education more than some other things. Its just guidelines we have to go by if the school lets us bring a phone with us.

(which i find not that great cause if you really need to call someone, the teacher has a homeroom phone (im guessing for everyone) and a carry on phone with them)

Most of the people against it are talking about irresponsible minds. What about those that are responsible? I know, in my generation, it is hard to fine one of these people, but like gamezee said If the class disinterest you, you shouldnt have to pay attention. And there are apps that help you with school such as review apps. I have a teacher that implements the use of iphones because there is review apps for the Global Regents test.

I'd loce to say something new, but i think everything I have has been said.

There have been multiple reports that literacy rates are deeclining (at least across NA, haven't really seen much about other regions). Some of these reports have also said that it goes hand in hand with a general decline with students failing. I'm not going to blame it all on cell phones, but I don't think it's a coincidence. This would lead me to beleive that they don't provide any advantage to learning but only distract from it.

Like Saul said, at a college/uni level it's different. The students are paying to be there and WANT to learn. They're [usually] more mature and responsible. So ya, in that case, as long as it's not distracting to other students, it's up to them.

But for generations, since schools were invented, people have gotten through perfectly fine, apparently better, without cell phones. Stop relying on them so much and we should be fine too. A cell phone won't always be there for you when you need it.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Stone Mask

Most of the people against it are talking about irresponsible minds. What about those that are responsible? I know, in my generation, it is hard to fine one of these people, but like gamezee said If the class disinterest you, you shouldnt have to pay attention. And there are apps that help you with school such as review apps. I have a teacher that implements the use of iphones because there is review apps for the Global Regents test.

Who is to decide if someone's responsible or irrisponsible? And review is great. But do it at home or during review time. Some classes are just boring. Some things in life are just boring. But that doesn't make it any more acceptable to be sitting there playing with your phone.

I would agree that phones should be allowed in class as long as they aren't distracting anyone else, but one thing gets in my way. The teacher, at least at a high school level, has a responsibility to give you the best learning environment you can handle. When you are screwing around on your phone, you are not learning anything. The teacher should take the phone away for your own well being.

Phones also pose a distraction to others, so in a sense you are disrupting the class. This is yet another reason they should be taken away, for the teacher has a responsibility to have control over the class.

Teachers also have a reputation. A lot of teachers care about their test scores, grade averages etc. etc. Having people texting and surfing the web during class brings all of those qualities people look for in a teacher's success down.

Most importantly, I believe the use of phones in class is a sign of disrespect. It shows that the student is not interested or refuses to participate in a service that is provided by the hard work and time of the teacher. It is a complete disrespect to the authority of the teacher.

Those are all the reasons I can come up with. As much as I would like to text in class sometimes. I realize that it isn't the right thing to do, for myself, for my teacher, and for others.