I allow cellphones in my classroom. When I told my students that, they couldn't handle it. When I tell colleagues, many think I am crazy. When I tell non-education friends, they give me blank stares. But cellphones are important in the classroom.
The stigma against cellphones comes largely, I believe, from an expectation that students will use their technology irresponsibly. Or maybe there is an expectation that technology leads to cheating, or that it is a crutch. Maybe it's a control thing, or a curricular thing. All I know is that I don't buy into it.
The argument that students shouldn't use technology because they'll use it irresponsibly. That makes no sense. Education requires that students be prepared for life. In any career path, technology is not only permitted, it is expected. Technology is the future, and teaching students to be technologically savvy is in an incredible skill for our students.
Even less of a valid argument is the idea that a student will use it to cheat. By simply engaging with students and stressing the need to work collaboratively but honestly, this issue has never come up in my class.
The world is changing. We barely know what life will look like tomorrow. Teaching students to adapt and think in new ways is the best thing we can do for them.
The stigma against cellphones comes largely, I believe, from an expectation that students will use their technology irresponsibly. Or maybe there is an expectation that technology leads to cheating, or that it is a crutch. Maybe it's a control thing, or a curricular thing. All I know is that I don't buy into it.
The argument that students shouldn't use technology because they'll use it irresponsibly. That makes no sense. Education requires that students be prepared for life. In any career path, technology is not only permitted, it is expected. Technology is the future, and teaching students to be technologically savvy is in an incredible skill for our students.
Even less of a valid argument is the idea that a student will use it to cheat. By simply engaging with students and stressing the need to work collaboratively but honestly, this issue has never come up in my class.
The world is changing. We barely know what life will look like tomorrow. Teaching students to adapt and think in new ways is the best thing we can do for them.