In a recent conversation on Facebook, a well known author I follow posted suggestions for high school teachers to prevent students from using their cell phones in class because they are distracting at best and can lead to explosive disruptions. They had suggested that teachers create ‘cubbies” and each student would be required to deposit their cell phone into these cubbies when they entered the classroom. I was surprised at the large number of people that overwhelming agreed; many were educators with many years teaching experience, although a few disagreed, citing school safety issues and the rise in campus violence.

I was the lone dissenter, I argued that “cubbies are for toddlers” and that requirement would not be an age appropriate or respectful way to treat high school students or adult college students. In fact, this act of taking the phones away could contribute to more defiance and lead to further problems. Although the discussion originally centered on high school students, it is not a huge leap to take this discussion and ideas and see how they apply to college learning environments.

Most of the questions related to cell phones in the classroom are framed around the negative: how to minimize cell phone disruption in this classroom. A few educators however, are approaching this from a positive angle and are examining ways to utilize cell phones and mobile devices to maximize learning. I stated that teachers could positively harness student’s natural interest in their cell phones and they could be used as an educational tool, instead of being viewed as a disruptive device.

If teachers are tired of telling students to put away their phones and find that many students are not complying anyway. The teachers could turn their classroom into a technology friendly environment and create classroom activates and assessments around the technology. Students can use their cell phones (or tablets and lap tops) pairing up if necessary, to study their subject. There are simple ways to ensure students are working, instead of socializing on phone. One instructor got rid of the lecture dynamic with teacher at the front of the class; they circulate around the room to check on and give feedback to the students while they work (Gram, n.d.).

This is an excellent solution that addresses the concerns about students ability to process information and multitask if they sue their cell phones during lecture – just drop lecture during the cell phone class segment (Anastasia, 2011). Establish a policy that phones are not out during opening lecture and introduction to class learning activities for the day. Which brings us to another reason for not banning cell phones; instructors will miss the opportunity to instruct in proper usage and appropriate times for using their cell phone and that their phone can be a technological tool (Sterner, 2015). The phones can be used to post questions, discussions and digital images to class social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, there are apps on phones that could be accessed to create lessons and further classroom activities. Tessier (2013) reported positive student reactions to cell phone use in class; the students reported that their phones helped them learn, to enjoy learning, to be more successful and also “marginally improved their attendance” (Tessier, 2013, p. 25).

Instructors who choose to adopt mobile learning and permit the use of cell phones in classes will have to stay on top of it; they will need to be creative, and innovative to sustain learning opportunities through mobile devices. For the instructor, this means staying up to date with current trends and research related to mobile technology; reading tech reports, currently scholarly research, visiting blogs of other educators and applying new ideas to current practice. However, innovation should be encouraged and supported by the institution in terms of financial and technical support as well as creating a culture and community that recognizes and rewards innovation (Nworie, 2014). This could include creating a web based campus repository of ideas and successful innovations in various courses, instructors can provide examples, share what they are doing, what worked and what did not work and encourage collaboration. Recognizing and rewarding innovation are important efforts “towards developing and sustaining successful instructional innovations are influenced by personal, pedagogical, curricular, and institutional cultures and factors” (Nworie, 2014, p. 12). To this end, the intuition plays a large role in supporting the faculty innovation and sustaining technology in the classroom and the use of cell phones or other mobile technology.

References

Anastasia, D. (2013). College students’ cell phone use, beliefs, and effects on their learning. College Student Journal , 47 (4), 585-592. Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Gram, E. (n.d.). Using Smartphones in the Classroom. National Educational Association. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/tools/56274.htm

Nworie, J. (2014). Developing and sustaining instructional and technological innovations in teaching and learning. Journal of Applied Learning Technology, 4 (4), 5-14. Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Sterner, R. (2015). 4 Things You’ll Miss by Banning Cell Phones in Your Classroom. Education Digest, 81 (2), 56-58. Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Tessier, J. (2013). Student impressions of academic cell phone use in the classroom. Journal of College Science Teaching, 43 (1), 25-29. Retrieved from Walden Library databases.