Smartphones are clearly distracting and disruptive for children. Many schools implement policies to prohibit the use of smartphones on school areas. These devices continue to improve in terms of sophistication. Students are no longer communicate with voice calls and text messages, but also with instant messaging, email and social media. Powerful processor and high resolution display also allows students to install dozens of games in a single device. Social media notifications may chirp in class., disrupting the smooth flow of learning experience. Smartphones also have dual-camera configurations, making them even more distracting. With its compact size, smartphones are obviously convenient and it is a normal part of our everyday lives. One of the biggest concerns among teachers and school staff is to manage the use of smartphones in school grounds.
It is important to make sure that smartphones are not used inappropriately. Smartphones can be useful for children to contact parents, search for relevant information online and perform distant learning sessions with other students. Even so, parents shouldn’t be too adamant about trying to contact their children at a moment’s notice. Children can easily be distracted by smartphones and they can easily be slaves to technology. Smarpthones should be used only during emergency if students are studying in classrooms. Students have survived for centuries in classrooms without smartphones, so modern students could survive as well. Unfortunately, smartphones can be used for lewd photography, bad social interactions and other kinds of distractions. If parents are concerned about possible emergencies, school should provide a special phone number for this purpose.
There are limited benefits of using smartphones in classrooms, except when students use these devices in group projects to look for references. If students are allowed to bring smartphones to the classroom, it is likely that they will become less productive. Because smartphones are so versatile, they can be a total disruption to the learning process. It’s also a perfect cheating gadget, allowing students to open Wikipedia or other reference websites during quizzes and exams. Without smartphones, students are already distracted enough and it is important for teachers and parents to realize that smartphones are total nuisance in the learning process. School is a place where students can learn and not a playground. Total disruption can happen in classrooms, so it is important that the use of gadgets are properly controlled.
There are different ways to prevent the use of smartphone in classrooms. It is a good idea to counter technology with another technological solutions. As an example, schools could emit jamming signals in classrooms and hallways to prevent students from using smartphones to make voice call, send text messages and connect to the Internet. Obviously, smartphones can still be fun to use even with zero connections. Students can still cameras and play a variety of games. In this case, it is a good idea if schools monitor different areas of the school using CCTV. Smartphones can be confiscated and kept by the school for a week or longer, depending on the severity of the violation. However, parents should be informed about this policy to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
