Cell Phone Use in Learning

While I feel there can be many upsides to everyone having cell phones and there are ways to utilize such technology in the classroom, I am going to take a "no" stance on using cell phones in learning at this time. I feel at this point the drawbacks out weigh the benefits. I never really had a problem with students having cell phones on them, especially since my teaching experience began in a collegiate setting and almost everyone had one. When I went into the high school setting at the tech I had to train myself to look for students using cell phones since I already used to seeing students have them.

My personal issues with cell phone use in an educational setting are as follows:

1. The camera. I had a student take pictures of me while I was writing on the board. If it was not for my other students telling me I wouldn't have found out about it. I feel students have a ready available camera at all times can create havoc for us as teachers and for other students. The pictures can be used in a negative way towards teachers and other students.

2. Its distracting. I know myself I am distracted by sending and receiving texts while I am trying to concentration on something and I'm an adult who cares about my work. Not many teens have the discipline to avoid such distractions.

3. Not all students have cell phones, many can't afford them or their parents have prohibited them from having them. I wouldn't want to violate a parent's decision or make a student feel bad if they don not own a cell phone. Often parents have given their kids cell phones in an event of an emergency and using cell phones in class whether it i s texting to post or making a call, can incur charges to the parents. Obviously if you plan on using such items in class, parent permission must be obtained first.