How do we limit cellphone use in the classroom?
“Tackling tech” was a very intriguing article to read. I found myself divulged into the reading because of the magnitude of the current issue. Living in the twenty first century, technology plays a significant role in the lives of most people. The users of technology are only becoming younger and younger and more students are coming to school with their own cellular devices. We are living in a society where our students are constantly surrounded by technology in one form or another.
When choosing what platform, I wanted to use to make my video, I wanted to use another platform that I was unfamiliar with. I wanted to give myself a challenge instead of using something that I know how to use. I decided to create a stop motion animation video with my own writing and drawings. After watching a couple sample videos online, I thought to myself, how difficult could it be? This is a unique way to represent my thoughts. I soon realized after I began writing out each word and taking a picture after every single word for every single sentence that this idea was going to be very time consuming. I ended up taking 390 photos to make my stop motion video. I am glad that I learned how to complete a stop motion video because in the future, I will be able to show my students how to do this for a project or task in class. It was not that writing out each word individually and taking the pictures was difficult, it was time consuming and very tedious.
The article “Tackling tech: How some Ontario teachers are attempting to limit students’ cellphone use” by Nadine Yousif, focuses mainly on the use of cellphones in the classroom. Throughout the article there are a couple of different methods that some teachers have tried to use to gain control over the use of cellular devices in their classrooms. One teacher decided that the students could take their phones to their desks, but only once they put their cellular device into a specialized pouch. This pouch was designed to block any access to Wifi and social media apps while enclosed in the pouch. Also, the design of this case could only be opened 
at an unlocking device that was controlled by their teacher. A teacher from Kitchener believes the only method that will work in reducing the usage of cellular devices in the classroom is to separate teens from their smartphones. Another teacher implemented the “Yondr” case style in their classroom which is a lockable pouch. Mr. Acheson claims that his class average raised 8% after utilizing this style of case in his classroom for the student’s cellular devices. He believes students get more done.
Many teachers believe that these tools of technology are a problem and cause only a distraction for the students. I asked myself while reading the article, why are we trying to separate teens from their smartphones? Are they not a tool many students have access to at their fingertips that can be beneficial in certain circumstances in the classroom? I believe that many schools are trying to promote the use of technology in the classroom after seeing many examples in my placement, from supply teaching and from discussions with other teachers. How can we promote technology in the classroom but not let students utilize the technology they have and are familiar with? The answer is not only black and white. There are many pros and cons to having technology and cell phone use in the classroom, but in the grand scheme I believe students should be allowed to have their cell phones in class and be able to use them with permission from their teachers at appropriate times. I should not be giving up in trying to control the usage of cellphones in my future classroom by eliminating cell phone use in all. I believe this will make students want to be sneakier in class and find a way to use their device because today’s society, several teens cannot be separated from their devices. However, as stated in the article, Premier Doug Ford suggested the outright ban of cellphones in schools, in order to “maximize learning time”, or in France they recently banned cell phone use on all school property as well as classrooms.
There will always be people who have different opinions and views of this topic. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but I believe as a future teachers, it will be up to us to use our professional judgement and make the call for our own classroom. Of course, I will have to follow and respect the rules of the school and principal. Some believe that teens need a “detox” from their technology but why prohibit a tool that can be beneficial to their learning if used in a proper way? I do not believe that teens need a “detox” from their technology, rather instead they should be learning new ways how to use their devices for educational purposes. My beliefs on technology include to always be growing and trying new things and adapting to the ever changing world of technology. I aspire to be a teacher who is engaging and promotes the use of technology in the classroom. Another idea stated in the article that I thought was brilliant, involved a teacher from Waterloo who developed the Resistor Case. Marcel O’Gorman designed a case using vinyl, Velcro and duct tape. This case does not lock, rather it makes a very loud noise (from the Velcro) when a student opens the case. This technique makes students think not only once, but twice about opening the case and drawing negative attention to themselves very quickly. I do not believe most students want to be a disruption in a class and therefor would not open the case unless given permission from the teacher. Teachers have tried some traditional methods to control cell phone usage in classrooms and although I have not had that opportunity for myself yet, the Resistor Case appears to be a popular method of control. Allowing the students to be in charge of their own cellular device will allow my future students to develop self control and respect for everyone in the class.
There is an extent to the usage of cell phones in the classrooms. In older grades, students could be using Kahoot or Mentimeter, or another application where they need some type of technology to complete the activity. In my placement, I had problems with the classroom iPad’s and computers not working properly with the activities I wanted to do online together, but they worked completely fine with a cell phone. There are also times when a teacher needs the laptops or iPad’s for their class but cannot get access to them for the day they want. I also found it a useful tool for myself as a French immersion teacher. When students did not know a word in French, or they wanted to spell it correctly, they could quickly use their device or ask me to use mine and look up the word on word reference or a dictionary online. Allowing students to use their personal devices solves that problem instantly. I believe there should not be a ban completely on cellphones in the classrooms entirely. I also think students could earn time throughout the week, if they do not go on their cell phones and are attentive, they would be given some time on a Friday or project day to use their own cellular devices. Some teachers may also be nervous that their students are always using their devices for non-educational purposes. But using a teaching method that revolves around authentic education, a teacher should not always use a lecture style approach to teach. I will do my best to be roaming around the classroom as I teach, helping my students with their work while all at the same time overseeing what my students are doing on the phones. This will help the students to stay on task and get their work done.
Living in today’s society, we are all surrounded by technology and this does not make it easy for students to not become distracted and some students may become addicted to their devices and cannot control themselves. I believe having a restriction of when students can use their devices, could help to solve the jittery texting fingers whilst promoting technology usage in the classroom. Prior to reading this article, I had not heard of any of the methods that these teachers are implementing in their classrooms for cell phone control. Before engaging with this article, honestly, I had only heard of the traditional methods such as putting all the cell phones at the front of the classroom, or hanging the cellphones in a pocket chart at the front of the classroom. This article was enlightening, knowing now that there are several different methods for cell phone control in classrooms. I truly feel strongly after reading this article that as a future educator, I should not just give up and eliminate the use of personal devices in the classrooms entirely, but the usage should be moderated and controlled using professional judgement. The entire text gave me new ideas and information on ways that I will be able to control cell phone use in my classroom. I am eager to put these ideas into motion when I have my own classroom.