Cell Phones in Class Interview

To get more perspective on the issue of cell phones in the classroom, I called up a friend of mine, Mr. Mason, a high school science teacher at my school in Sacramento, CA. Our school (2017) sees cell phones as a tool that students can use to improve their "ability to communicate and learn." In addition to that, students are held accountable for using them responsibly, and gives the teacher the discretion to allow or disallow them in the classroom.

Mr. Mason has taken the route of letting students use cell phones in the classroom, but only for specific purposes and at specific times. Otherwise, students are expected to have them tucked away in a backpack or pocket because of their potential to distract from what is happening in class. If a student doesn't abide by this policy, then he will either give a strong, brief reminder to the student for what behavior is expected of them, or confiscate the phone. He says that consistency with how he deals with cell phone misuse is key to preventing any future distractions. Even though there is the occasional time when he takes someone's phone or redirects someone's behavior, he hasn't had any parents complain about using them in class. Interestingly, the most problems he has with cell phones comes from parents texting or calling their child during class. Mr. Mason will let the student step outside the classroom to answer the call if necessary.

On the positive side, Mr. Mason has found cell phones to be very helpful for enabling students to make calculations, perform online research, create videos and stop-motion projects. He has even given students a specific amount of time in class and a specific app to use for creating a short commercial to demonstrate their learning. In the future he hopes to incorporate cell phones more often to help with assessing student learning, such as having them create and share presentations and explore things virtually using Google Cardboard.

Talking with Mr. Mason helped me, an elementary teacher, see some positive uses of cell phones in the classroom, as well as how to address the potential challenge of it being a distraction. I have also been looking at incorporating VR stuff like Google Cardboard in my classroom using my phone lately, so I will keep in touch with him to see how he might use it with his science students. If and when I use cell phones in the classroom, I will keep in mind how Mr. Mason manages his students' use of them in class to ensure that both the students, parents, and I know that they are helping students learn to utilize technology in positive, productive ways.

Sources

7th-12th Grade Student Handbook. (2017) (p. 24-25). Sacramento, CA. Retrieved from http://www.sacaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Student-Handbook-7-12.pdf 

Teen on Phone. [Photograph]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. 
http://quest.eb.com/search/300_346945/1/300_346945/cite