Students in school spend a significant amount of time on their phones, even during class when they are supposed to be completing assignments. While some say this is a problem and it results in falling grades and major distraction, others see phones as an opportunity for teens to use their cell phones for educational purposes.

A closer look at both the pros and cons of cell phone use in school reveals interesting arguments on both sides.

One positive for phone use in school is how it can aid students in doing research and engaging in class. A USA Today article by Josh Higgins from 2013 reveals that “although schools have traditionally banned or limited cellphones in the classroom, 73% of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers said their students use phones in the classroom or to complete assignments, according to a Pew Research Center Study released in February.” Higgins also reports that this concept of using one’s phone to assist in class is supported by George Fornero, Superintendent of Township High School District 113, located outside Chicago, whose school system has begun allowing its students to use cell phones.

Paint Branch Music Director and teacher Mr. Kirchhoff feels that “phones can be a great tool to help students in music. Many students use their phones as a tuner or metronome, or they are able to look up video or audio recordings of pieces they are working on. They can even download fingering charts and apps to help them learn scales, chords, and other music theory information.”

Of course, students also use cell phones as much for an escape or a communication tool as they do for educational purposes. With everything happening around them, students tend to go on their phones for an escape. Much of this time is spent on Twitter, Instagram, or other social-media sites. Having cell phones is simply a part of young peoples’ lives, so the idea that schools would take them away or overregulate their use rather than embrace them does not make sense to those who study the issue.

Higgins quotes Natalie Milman, a George Washington University education technology professor who says, “… with youth, (having a phone) is a very natural part of their ecosystem. It doesn’t make sense to close that opportunity for them when they go to school.” Milman, a parent herself, adds, “As a parent, I can see parents pushing for it when you think of the shootings that happen.”

When teens are using their phones correctly and fully, a cell phone can be used for many educational purposes such as doing research, coordinating projects, using as a calculator, or even for recording important dates such as when a homework assignment or a project is due.

Erica Nwoga uses her phone for school in a variety of ways. “For physics, I use my phone for my homework, and that helps me with my grades,” says the PB freshman.

Twelfth grader Milan Townsend supports the use of cell phones in the classroom. “We should use cell phones in class for educational purposes,” says Townsend. “They are so much easier to use when we need something.”

Teachers can ask students to use their phones for homework help or to fact-check material in the classroom. Additionally, a phone is the only device small enough for students to use to check their grades easily. Instead of going to the computer lab, students can check them right in the classroom.

Staff at some schools also use cell phones for apps that can be used in class. A Fox News article by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos from 2014 titled, “Schools Call on Cell phones as Teaching Tools,” reveals that “teachers are now using applications on Smartphones that allow students to work on collaborative projects, like Edmodo.”

PB math teacher Ms. Zwaan also sees the benefits of cell phones as an assistant in the learning process. She says that “… instead of using activotes, we could use our cell phones to choose an answer.”

As there are pros to cell phones in school, there are also cons. Two main reasons often cited for the limiting of cell phones in class are distraction and cheating.

Cheryl Cirelli, a writer form the website cellphones.lovetoknow.com says, “Having easy access to a mobile phone during class can make it easier for them [students] to lose focus. If they become bored with the class material, it doesn’t take much for them to take their cell phone to play some games or to check their newsfeed on Facebook or Twitter. How can you expect a child or teen to absorb the knowledge they need to learn if they’re not even paying attention?”
When you consider this, it makes sense. Phones of any kind can easily distract students if they have a short attention span. Another reason is cheating.

Cirelli also says,” The concept of passing notes has stepped into the age of technology, thanks to text messaging. Texts can be sent quite discreetly while in the classroom.”

Looking around any classroom, one can easily spot students hiding their phones while texting one another. Cirelli adds, “The possibilities for cheating and copying are literally limitless when students have access to cell phones in class.”
Having cellphones in class can be both good and bad. They can be used in many ways for educational purposes, while they can also be used for non-educational ones.. They may distract, but they may also help when it comes to homework.