Are we failing to provide students with a 21st century education by banning mobile phones in the classroom?
In the education world there is an acknowledgement that learning experiences need to be linked to student’s prior knowledge. However, it is also important to ensure our practices link with students prior experiences in using and interacting with particular types of text. It is imperative teacher’s make connections between the technologies students use outside of school.
However … Studies have found that many schools only use laptops and desktop computers as digital texts in the classroom (68). Even though research shows that many students perceive desktop computers as old fashioned, out-dated and slow. This was certainly the case when I was at school. Furthering this, what is the use of getting students to loan or buy out-dated texts, some five years old ? When we can find up to date and reliable information online. Similarly, Hannah points out in her blog, that ICTs allows students to explore the wealth of information on the internet.
Based on this evidence I have come to the conclusion teachers need to be aware of current technological trends. Today there is a rapid rise of teenage mobile phone use, with many using this as a main tool for internet access. Considering this I find it interesting that many schools have banned mobile phones in the classroom. In many schools where the computers or textbook are out-dated why shouldn’t we let students access this information on their phones? Many teachers site the main reasons as it allows students to be off task and get distracted. While this many be true, students can still be off task in classroom without the use of mobile phones? I’ve seen many students off task on a computer! I see this as a behaviour management and lesson planning issue, don’t blame it on the technology! I am interested in hearing your thoughts – should mobile phones be banned in the classroom?
EDC3100 Blog 
Hi Danielle,
I’ve been thinking about this topic for the last week or so as well. Good point about being off task. My perspective is that there’s a genuine fear of ICT being used in the classroom due to lack of experience. Having said that, when are the current teachers given time to ‘broaden their horizons’ regarding new skills? It seems as though their current workload, already saturated with tasks, is ever increasing. That’s another issue but I think it does a lot to solving the question of using ICT in classrooms. The international school I did a couple of pracs at used ICTs heavily, mind you all the students had a personal laptop to use. But all teachers, young and old, at this school happily used ICTs as though it was second nature. I’ve never seen this in an Australian school.
Cheers
Rossco
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Your comments lead to thoughts about education theory and what lies behind such. You refer to the best practice that learning experiences need to be linked to prior knowledge and facilitate use of multimodal text. It would seem that for meaningful learning to occur, students need to engage fully in the learning experience. It would seem strange then that we shun a teaching tool that so obviously captivates today’s learners and worse, substitute it for archaic tools such as textbooks and cumbersome laptops. The Australian Curriculum emphasises the importance of developing general capabilities in our learners; doesn’t it seem apparent that we could use the phone to demonstrate global and ethical understandings and interpersonal skills via social networking, critical and creative thinking via analysing resources that are at our finger tips, literacy skills via multi-modal texts – we still have to decode to comprehend digital text, and lastly, numeracy skills perhaps via online shopping sites that we all have bookmarked in our phones. For me (a technology rookie) it would be a giant step but a step inn the right direction.
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