In order to get more information about cellphone use in the classroom, I emailed a teacher I had worked with while substituting last year for 6 weeks at Grafton High School in Grafton, Massachusetts. Erin teaches Anatomy and Biology, and I had observed students using their cellphones in class daily while I filled in for her special education, co-teaching partner, who was out on maternity leave.
Erin’s initial response to my email informed me that Grafton High School has since become 1:1 with iPads. She explained that since every student has an iPad, “cell phones have actually become an antiquated device for the kids” to use in the classroom.
What is your school’s policy regarding having and using cellphones in the classroom?
Cell phones are allowed to be used for educational purposes in the classroom. Cell phones are allowed in between classes, at lunch, or any other non-instructional time. Every teacher has their own policy on cell phones, some teachers do not want to see the phones at all while others do not mind if it is out on the table. All students now have iPads. The iPads are used to varying degrees in each teachers classroom. I use the iPads in my classroom almost every day.
Do you ever use cellphones as a means of communicating with parents, or for obtaining feedback from parents?
No. I have never used a cell phone to contact a parent. I have only communicated via email or my school phone line.
What are some of the positives to having students have their cellphones accessible during class?
Information is at their fingertips. It provides for differentiated learning opportunities because students can be working on different assignments at the same time without knowing what each other is doing. They provide for immediate feedback from students when using an app like Socrative or PollEverywhere. Technology can also be used as an earned reward for some students.
What kinds of challenges do cellphones in the classroom pose for you as an educator?
They can be distractions or cause off-task behaviors. When they are allowed to use them however, the "fun" of students trying to be sneaky about using their phones goes away. If they know that they will be allowed to use their phone at some point in the lesson, students are less likely to use it when they are not suppose to.
Can you describe a project or learning activity in which cellphone access for students promoted learning, and achieving lesson objectives?
I use an app called Socrative all the time. It allows you to create quick quizzes to assess comprehension of a topic. After students are given instruction on a topic, I will have them take a Socrative that I created to see who has grasped the concept and who needs further instruction.
I love new tools, and Socrative, which is FREE, is new to me. It can be used with any kind of device that can access the Internet, so I could even use it with the computers in my classroom.
I would imagine that allowing cellphone use for educational purposes in the classroom at Grafton High School could have led to acknowledging the benefits of 1:1 devices for students. I think that what Erin said regarding, students being less likely to use their phones when they are not suppose to, if they know that they will have a chance at some point in the lesson, is very true. Cellphone use seems a little bit like a fidget toy or a habit. It is the new doodling. So, if a teacher can build appropriate use into the lesson, it might help to diminish the magnetic pull of the cellphone.
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