Cell Phones in the Classroom: Keep Them Banned, or Incorporate Them?

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Cell phones are quickly becoming a child and teenager’s new best friend. In fact, they even seem to be replacing human contact, and are now how both children and teenagers communicate with each other. Cell phone sales have sky rocketed at an alarming rate, and many of the consumers are under the age of 18, meaning they are still in elementary and high school. Society has influenced students to feel that they need to own a cell phone to be “cool”, thus making the issue of cell phones in the classroom society context vs. students (area 13). Cell phones have now begun to be a large distraction in the classroom, and are the newest item that many schools have had to implement a policy for; many of these policies simply ban the use of cell phones in school at all. However, it is no surprise that students refuse to follow this rule, and now simply hide their cell phones. Cell phones have many negative effects on a classroom, since they are a large distraction and also have the issue of privacy connected to them, but is it possible that cell phones could have a positive impact on the classroom and aid in student’s learning? Clearly cell phones have become a distraction in the classroom, with all their features of texting, games and a camera, it is impossible for a cell phone to not be a distraction. Cell phones have become a large and important part of teenager’s lives, and according to a study done CTIA and Harvis Interactive in the United States, a 17-year old that was interviewed claimed that “leaving home without my phone almost feels like leaving the house naked” (CBS News Survey). Students begin to feel anxious when they are without their cell phone, and this could be a possible answer to the question of why students feel ... ... middle of paper ... ...t means incorporating them into a classroom or banning them from schools completely. Works Cited Vicki Davis. Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Making the Case for Cell Phones in Schools. (n.d.). Cool Cat Teacher Blog. Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/03/making-case-for-cell-phones-in-schools.html Mobile. (n.d.). Google. Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://www.google.ca/mobile/sms/index.html Teaching Today | How-To Articles | Cell Phones in the Classroom. (n.d.). Teaching Today | Home. Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/cell-phones-in-the-classroom Survey: Teens' Cell Phones Indispensible - CBS News. Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/15/tech/cnettechnews/main4449232.shtml

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