SEARCY, AR. (LP) — These days, more and more students are bringing cell phones to class. Students check their phones in the classroom an average of more than 11 times a day. That can add up to a lot of time spent distracted from schoolwork. And when students are distracted, it’s a recipe for extra stress, frustration, and catch-up time for everyone. With students spending up to 20% of their in-class time texting, emailing, and checking social media, it’s no wonder the debate about cell phones in the classroom is alive and well. Here is how cell phones can be used effectively in classrooms. Using educational learning apps on cell phones can give students access to tools and apps that can help them complete and stay on top of their class work. A student from Searcy High School Adrian Neals states, “I like using my phone in class to either make Quizlets or to study.” These tools can also teach students to develop better study habits, like time management and organization skills. Or you could try incorporating digital platforms into lessons by using social media. It can keep students interested in class and encourage them to participate in the discussion. Some teachers create twitter hashtags or message boards students can use during class discussions to share thoughts and ideas. This can be especially helpful for students who might not be comfortable speaking in class. Cell phones can give students access to more information, letting them research more about a topic while having class discussions. This is especially true for current events that have not yet been covered in school textbooks. Even though there can be many pros there are sadly many cons.

While cell phones can be used as learning tools, it is a challenge to make sure students are using them for school-related tasks. A cell phone can easily turn from “classroom learning tool” into “classroom disruption”. When students use their cell phones to check social media and text their friends in class, it leads to distractions for those students as well as for their peers. Bella Reeds from Searcy High states, “It can be very annoying and even hard for me to concentrate in class when I can hear the person next to me playing on their phone.” This can cause disruptions in class, particularly if the teacher is constantly telling students to turn their devices off. Cell phones can also lead to increased problems with bullying on the school ground. Cyberbullying can be harder to see than other forms of bullying, making it difficult for teachers to identify and stop when it is happening. Cell phones can be a helpful learning tool in class. But they can also be used by students to access information while taking a test, leading to cheating. Even if a student isn’t caught, this can lead to him or her having a poor understanding of the material in the future, and is unfair to students who studied hard to do well. A student who wants to stay anonymous said, “I see a few kids in my classes that cheat all the time and its very unfair.” While cell phones can help encourage participation by offering different channels, this can also lead to less in-person discussion and fewer learning opportunities. Learning to work together with others is an important part of students’ education, and can be lost with too much dependence on cell phones and other digital technology.

So the bottom line is, should students have cell phones in schools? There’s no easy answer, there are both pros and cons to students having cell phones in school. Although they can be used as a learning tool in the classroom, this only works as long as students use them effectively. This means for teachers who decide to use cell phones (or any other digital device) as part of their lessons, it’s important to set ground rules and keep a close eye on how they are being used.