Mobile Phones in Schools General Chat

[Cherub]

I was going to post this in the Parenting Club group but thought I'd make it available to all to discuss.

This has made the national news lately with there now being a proposal to ban mobile phones in schools. Most children now own a smartphone and use it as a staple of their lives, whether for good or bad. They have great potential to be useful learning devices, but at the same time can hinder progress during lessons. Here is a list of pros and cons of allowing smartphones to be used in schools, and opportunities to eliminate those risks.

Pros:

• Provides opportunities for pupils to engage with technology in a productive way
• Prepares pupils for digital-focused careers
• Useful for teaching pupils about the dangers of the internet
• Can save schools money by not needing to maintain desktop technology
• Eliminates the need for schools to update physical textbooks
• With proper filtering, schools can block inappropriate sites

Cons:

• Pupils are often distracted by games and social media
• Even when not being used, noise from calls and text messages are another cause of distraction
• Can be a cause of bullying if some pupils own more expensive devices
• Pupils can access inappropriate sites if using mobile data
• Excessive screen time can lead to mental and physical health problems
• Can hinder work-life balance if pupils use the same device for home and school.

The way I see it, many of the cons can be eliminated by better regulation of the internet in general, whether on a school, local or national level. The smartphone has only been in existence for 17 years, which in the greater scheme of things isn't a very long time. As time goes on, I believe that more laws will be introduced to make the internet safer for all, to the point that the benefits of pupils using smartphones in schools will outweigh the risks. Even if schools aren't comfortable with pupils using their own personal devices, I can imagine many will encourage them to borrow school-owned devices in lessons as part of the curriculum, particularly important to prepare children for the digital world of the future.

 

[Gemma]

Pretty much most of those pros and cons could apply to adults in the workplace too.