I'm going to try to set my personal feelings aside with this issue, and make present this post as objectively as possible. :)
I figured that the statistics of cell phone usage were through the roof, but these really surprised me! 20% of 6-8 year olds in the US have a cell phone! It's hard for me to rationalize reasons why a child that age would need a cell phone. Use, I can understand, maybe...at a friend's house for the night, for example....but have for their own? Not so easily. I am also amazed at the rate of increase in smart phone ownership. Even when cell phones were getting more and more commonplace to have, Blackberries (pretty much THE smart phone at the time) were thought of as representative only of the businessman, or some other sort of dignitary. Now 20% of the teenagers on their phones in you class are surfing on facebook and wikipedia instead of simply texting.
Advocates for cell phone use in classroom settings propose their use similar to the use of any other technology students are already familiar with. Why ban something from use when it could be an aid to the learning taking place? Especially if the teacher monitors use, as should be the case with all things in the classroom, anyway, cell phones in the curriculum would provide teachers with the opportunity to model etiquette and overall appropriate use of the cell phone capabilities. Also, as cell phone technology progresses, students may virtually "cut out the middle man" laptop, and upload or post data directly from their phone. With the cell phone always on the student's person, that student has, arguably, unlimited access to academic tools.
Of course, a teacher must realize that improper use of educational tools will never completely be eliminated. The misbehavior of some may damage the sincere learning potential of the rest of the group. Similarly, to some students, cell phones would present an unavoidable distraction to themselves and/or others. I also cannot help but consider those students who will inevitably not have a cell phone in my classroom. Would I need to plan an alternate activity for those other 21% of teenagers anyway? Where does the tool become a hassle? Ultimately, I would recommend playing out the classroom, school, students, and according technology by ear. I think one of the biggest marks of an effective teacher is flexibility after recognizing what strategies work or don't work for a given classroom. Additionally, and I think this is where Brooks-Young and I agree the most, any use of a tool MUST include training on the ethical use of that tool, as well as a teacher/administration to adequately model that ethical use. This plays a huge role in technology, and I think even to cell phones especially.
I, too, am surprised at how young children are who have their own cell phones. However, there are many families (apparently) where surprisingly young children are latchkey kids. A way two working parents "supervise" these children is through set call-in times.
ReplyDeleteAnd, some children carry cell phones to daycare so they can call if there is something they don't like at daycare.
In my family, we only extended cell phone usage to our teens when they began to drive - in case there was a problem when they were driving alone. Perhaps you are something of a traditionalist that way. But our younger kids always were with one parent or the other.
Now, as to the question about how to deal with the children who do not have cell phones... Reading the book mentioned in your text, Toys to Tools (something like that), some schools have phone "loaners" (with appropriate restrictions on the account as to where the child may call). Other schools provide alternative assignments or encourage students to do the work at school on a computer if they do not have a cell phone. It does look like a bit of a problem, even so, but those are ways to mitigate the problem.
Appreciate your thoughts on the situations and possibilities this technology addresses.
Thanks! :-)