Nowadays, phone
is one of the important gadget that everybody needs to have. It is not only
because of to communicate but also to find data from internet, with the
sopisthicated development of gadget, now it is easy to connect to the second
world. With that kind of benefit, it is not a new topic of why every students
bring their phones to the school, they have their own reason to have their
phones always be with them. For example, students will say that it is a good
sources to find data of information on web. so , if there is no sources from
books they will find it through internet.
Now the problem
is raising up, are we as a teacher will excuse them to have phones during
teaching activities? Do we have to involve them with their gadget? The answer
of that questions is YES. We have to let theem involve with second world, we
can’t force them to not use their phones because they will use it even we give
them punishment. So the better way is to let them use that. As in one source I
found, 5 reasons of why we should allow them to use phone.
- If we are preparing our students for life after school, we should allow them to use the tools they will be using when they get there. How many jobs can you think of right now where a smart phone is not beneficial? Mechanics order parts on their phone, engineers view blueprints, doctors calculate dosages, and grocers check inventory. The list is endless. By the time our students enter their professions the need to utilize mobile technology will be even stronger. Not preparing our students for that world is negligent.
- In a time when schools are facing tightening budgets, using technology that is readily available is logical. How many schools point to a lack of funds as a reason they are not doing more with technology? We can go a long way towards solving that problem by using technology that is available for free and probably in a majority of HS students' pockets.
- Mobile devices are great for teaching 21st century skills. If you want kids to learn to collaborate, what better tool can you use than a phone? Videoconferencing with people all over the world becomes easy. One of the main arguments against student phone use is that kids might cheat. My response is that tests that are so lacking in rigor that students can look up answers on a phone or get them from another student are lousy and outdated in a world where information is free and easy. We need to get used to the fact that kids don't need to know "stuff" nearly as much as they need to learn to use that "stuff." Tests of recall don't prepare our students for the world ahead. Kids know this - it's why they think school is irrelevant. Kids working together to find solutions to problems (collaboration) should be encouraged, not labeled as "cheating." Policies that ban cell phones because students might text each other are short-sighted. As Kevin Honeycutt is fond of saying, "Students used to pass notes on paper. We never banned paper."
- Double standards are not OK. I know of several districts where administrators come into classrooms with iPhones and/or iPads to take notes on teacher observations. Yet, in these same classrooms students are not allowed to use mobile devices. The message this sends to students is totally unacceptable. These are great tools. Kids know it. Let them use them.
- We need to teach kids responsible ways to use technology. Keeping them "safe" by refusing to expose them to technology is irresponsible on our part. Students are using cell phones whether we ban them in school or not. They are communicating, sending pictures to each other, using social media and social networking, and consuming information. We need to be teaching them how to do this while protecting themselves from both mistakes they might make that will follow them for decades and others who want to do them harm. The dangers and pitfalls of using mobile devices aren't going away. Isn't it our responsibility to teach our students to be safe ?
