Q:  In my middle school/high school, kids aren’t allowed to use cell phones during the day (although we all know they do).  To “set a good example,” our principal has decided that teachers shouldn’t use them either.

Frankly, most of us consider this a ridiculous ruling.  Phones are available for teacher use in the faculty room or the office, but it’s much more convenient to call a parent, for example, on a cell phone from your own classroom.  And I’ll admit that it’s also more convenient to make appointments or take care of all the other business everyone has to contend with.  How can I convince my principal to move into the age of technology?

A:  You might refer your principal to a survey done by the Pew Research Center last spring.  The survey found that 75% of kids age 12-17 own cell phones.  Twenty-four percent say their schools ban cell phones, but 65% bring them to school anyway and 58% admit to texting in class!

No. They can't. There is no legal floodwall even remotely big enough to stop this one.  

Yet, we keep trying ... and causing ourselves even more policy trouble in the effort because as we are trying to build the wall higher and stronger we are also trying to bail out the water already on the other side. 

Is it time to switch tactics yet? Is it time to go with the flow and help direct the waters in responsible directions? We legal types are the ones that need to let administrators know when it is appropriate to stop trying to plug the dam. That is our responsibility as their advisors. 

Meanwhile, the kids are waiting for us ...

What is more disruptive, banning cell phones and requiring teachers to confiscate them, or embracing student cell phones and teaching students how to use them more responsibly. For the 2009-2010 school year we changed our cell phone policy at the school were I serve as an assistant principal. We allow students to use their cell phones in between classes and in the cafeteria during their lunch period. The rest of the school day is instructional time and their cell phones are to be off and out of site unless a teacher is using them as part of the lesson.

 

Additionally, we made another change to our cell phone policy. We no longer require teachers to confiscate a student's cell phone if they violate the policy. We tell the teachers to write up a conduct report and turn it in to the main office and we will handle it from there. Our goal was to eliminate the classroom struggle that ensues between the teacher and a student when there is a cell phone policy violation.

 

The school I work in is a high school with about 1050 students. It is a middle to upper-middle class neighborhood. Almost all of our students carry a cell phone and an iPod of some sort.

Overall we have not had an increase in cell phone policy violations versus the same time last year when we did not allow cell phones to be used during the school day. In all honesty the students treated the change in the policy like it was no big deal. Many students have told me that by allowing them to use their phones it has removed the temptation to take them out at other times when it would be inappropriate. 

In all honesty I expected the violations for this school year (09-10) to be higher. One of the reasons I expected higher numbers was because teachers do not have to confiscate the student's cell phone when the student violates the policy. I thought this change in procedure would result in more discipline reports. Not the case.

" ... that proper education about appropriate online behavior and digital media consumption can help children evaluate potential online risks. The group suggested that the government “promote nationwide education in digital citizenship and media literacy as the cornerstone of internet safety.”

 

Recommendations include creating a web-based clearinghouse of online safety education research, avoiding scare tactics, promoting digital citizenship at all grade levels, establishing industry best practices for effective internet safety education programs, and looking to young people as experts in the online and digital media arenas by involving them in risk-prevention education.

 

Awareness efforts should be ongoing, and stakeholders should “promote greater transparency for parents as to what sort of content and information will be accessible and recorded with a given product when their child is online,” recommended a subcommittee on parental controls and child protection technology.

 

Charles Costello has been an English Teacher at Greenwich High School (Greenwich, CT) since 2002. On his blog Teacher Talk he wrote an article about whether or not students should have cell phones in class. Below is an excerpt from his blog post:

So what should be done? Well, I have my opinion. No cell phones or any other electronic devices allowed in school. If you’re caught with one, it should be confiscated and appropriate punishment should follow. Whether that means detention or suspension or something else, we can figure that out once we have the courage to ban these devices and show our students that we expect more from them. My classroom policy is that I deduct 10 points from a student’s quarter participation grade each time I see or hear a cell phone or IPOD. If they bring it to school, it must be concealed and turned off before they enter my classroom. 

Mr. Costello takes a rather strong stand against the use of cell phones in school. I can understand his frustration as a classroom teacher but I wonder what else is going on at this school that causes cell phones to be such a disruption. Even if students are allowed to have cell phones in school, there must be policies for how and when they can be used. Additionally, the policies need to be enforced when students violate them.

We allow students to use cell phones between classes and in lunch period. At all other times the cell phones must be off and out of sight, unless a teacher is using the phones as part of a lesson. If a student violates the policy we issue them a central detention. If the problem persists with a particular student we will issue increase the severity of the consequence for each offense i.e. an extended detention, call home, confiscate the phone until a parent retrieves it, and even in-school suspension. On a few occasions we have told a student and their parents that the student is no longer allowed to bring a cell phone to school. At the school were I work the overwhelming majority of students use their cell phones in a responsible manner and they comply with our policy.

Follow this link to read a debate on whether or not cell phones should be allowed in school. They present an article on both sides of the issue and allow you to vote. Below are the results of the vote as of May 9, 2010 at 11:30am.

Based on a survey and focus groups conducted with teenagers between 12 and 17, Pew found that text messaging is by far the most common way that kids communicate with each other, more than chatting on the phone, e-mailing, using social-networking sites, or talking face to face.

More than 75 percent of teens now own cell phones, notes Pew, up from just 45 percent in 2004. Around 72 percent of all teens, or 88 percent of teens who own mobile phones, use text messages to communicate. That marks a big jump from 2006 when only 51 percent of teens texted on their phones.

Teachers aren't wild about the use of cell phones either, and as a result, many schools limit or ban their use. Around 24 percent of teens said their school bans all cell phones from the campus entirely, while 62 percent said they're allowed to bring a phone to school but not into the classroom.

But 65 percent of teens whose schools exclude cell phones from campus said they bring them anyway, and 58 percent of them said they've sent text messages in class despite the ban. Meanwhile, kids have come up with ways to avoid having their phones taken away. One teen surveyed said he has a real phone and a fake phone so that if the teacher catches him, he can give her the fake phone.

This research underscores what I have been saying for the past year. Students love their cell phones and regardless of the prohibitions schools put on their phones they are using them anyway during the school day. Schools need to accept this reality and start embracing student cell phones and using them as part of the instructional activities.

Prince George's County (Maryland) public schools is proposing a ban on student cell phones. The superintendent for the district does not support the ban. Below are quotes from an article in the Gazette.Net online newspaper:

"Students operate at 100 miles an hour outside of school, but once they get to school they slow down because of [rules] we impose," he said Friday at Discovery Education's Administrator Day, in Silver Spring.

Hite served as the keynote speaker for Discovery Education's — a division of the Discovery Communications media company — first administrator-only training event, which focused on education technology strategies and curriculum. More than 100 administrators from 16 regional school districts attended the free event.

Hite, referring to cell phones as "mini-computers," said phones and iPod digital music players could be used as learning tools.

Hite hopes to persuade the county school board to hold off on putting the ban in place.He feels that student cell phones should only be used to support instructional activities otherwise they should be put away. Hite used to work in Henrico County School in Virginia that was an early 1:1 laptop school district. He says he has seen the benefits technology brings to education.

Here in New Jersey all new administrators have to go through a 2-year mentoring program. In the second year of the program you have to conduct an action research project. I am three-quarters of the way through the program. My research project is exploring the use of student cell phones to enhance instruction and learning in the classroom. I am also looking at ways to reduce the distractions cell phones cause as part of the school day. I started this blog as a way to report on my findings. Below are the research questions I will be seeking to answer as as part of my research.

1. Is there a way to eliminate the power struggle that ensues between teachers and students when the teacher tries to confiscate the cell phone during class after a cell phone violation occurred?

2. Are there steps schools can take to reduce the number of cell phone infractions that occur during the school day?

3. Can students be taught and expected to use cell phones in a responsible manner during the school day?

4. Given the ubiquitous proliferation of mobile phones in both the business and consumer market do schools have an obligation to teach students how to use their cell phones in a socially responsible manner?

5. Are their legitimate uses of student cell phones to enhance instruction and learning in the classroom?

I welcome feedback and input on my research questions regardless of how you feel about the issue. You can comment on this blog or email me at kbals@holmdelschools.org . I have written extensively on this blog about many of my findings and what we have done here at my high school. Below are the posts related specifically to my project and what we have done at the high school I work at:

What is more disruptive - Banning or Embracing Student Cell Phones?

Cell Phone Disruption by the Numbers

To Ban or Embrace

No Big Deal

Use Outlook to Send Text Message Reminders to Students

Using Student Cell Phones and iPadio to Record Student Conversations

Using Google Voice in a World Language Classroom

Why did I name the blog Living in the 4th Screen? Watch the video below.

Does your student have a cell phone?

Many students have or have access to cell phones. Please review the suggestions below, and take this opportunity to discuss responsible cell phone usage with your child.

• Phones should remain off and in backpacks while at school.

• Avoid musical ringtones and turn your phone to vibrate in public settings.

• Phone conversations should be conducted quietly and in private, not in front of friends or during interaction with others.

• Students should understand that it is inappropriate to take or forward embarrassing pictures of others.

• Compulsive checking for text messages is disruptive to your child’s focus, as well as their friends and family.

• Any messages that are threatening, scary, or contain inappropriate language or pictures should be discussed with a trusted adult or parent.

• If your child is receiving inappropriate texts or pictures from another child, it might be helpful to contact the sender’s parents.

• Chain texts, like chain emails, are considered spam, and generally bad manners to forward.

• Children should understand that not everyone has unlimited texting plans. When sending an unnecessary text, such as a chain message, it might be costing your family or friend’s family extra money…even if they are not read.

Parents, you are in charge. Monitor what your child is sending and receiving. This is your phone, your money, and most importantly your child. Letting your child know what your expectations are will help them avoid pitfalls.

“Students today depend too much on hand-held calculators.” (Anonymous, 1985)

“Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American virtues of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.” (Federal Teacher, 1950)

“Students today depend upon these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib, (not to mention sharpen their own quills). We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world, which is not so extravagant.” (PTA Gazette, 1941)

“Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.” (The Rural American Teacher, 1929)

“Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.” (National Association of Teachers, 1907)

“Students today depend upon paper too much. They don’t know how to write on slate without chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” (Principal’s Association, 1815)

“Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend upon their slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when their slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!” (Teachers Conference, 1703)

Students can use their iPod touches in plain sight in Mark Schuler’s World History class at Roswell High School here.

Roswell officials, unlike most of their counterparts around the country, have changed their view of the MP3 players, seeing them less as contraband and more as educational accessories. Educators at the 2,400-student school in suburban Atlanta are hoping to put more content at students’ fingertips and capture their interest by enlisting the digital tools today’s teenagers have already mastered for social and leisure purposes.

“Five years ago iPods were banned, but we got overwhelmed with trying to discipline kids and fight the technology,” says Edward Spurka, the principal of Roswell High. “Our philosophy here now is let them have it, ..."

Lisa Moody, a student at South Shelby High School in Missouri, has written an article that is posted on the school's webpage. She asks the question, "Are cell phones really as bad as we think?" Ms. Moody presents a compelling  argument as to when and why students should be allowed to use cell phones during the school day. Below is a quote from her article:

Texting during lunch/study hall has been brought up by students as a time to be able to text. Candace Blackford and Cassie Larrick both agreed and said, "if all their schoolwork is done then why not." Being aloud to text during school should be a privilege.

I have to admit I never thought of looking at using cell phones as a privledge students could earn. Interesting perspective. We allow our students to use their cell phones between classes and during lunch. As I reported here, our reported cell phone violations have decreased this year. The students have told me we have decreased the temptation to use their cell phone inappropriately because they know there is an appropriate time during the school day when they can use their cell phones.

A while back I wrote about Project K-Nect going on in a school in North Carolina (Click here to read the post). This article I recently read on O'Reilly Radar talks about the project in more detail. Project K-Nect was a small pilot were 150 ninth-graders were given cell phones to use 24/7, but primarily as a tool in their algebra class. The pilot project, by all accounts, was very successful. As I read this recent article I was intrigued by a few of the authors observations.

Midway through the article the author writes:

A final observation is that having a digitally mediated component to the learning environment can be surprisingly inclusive. As teachers in Project K-Nect began to experiment with using the blogs and instant messaging for discussing math in the classroom, an unexpected (to us) dynamic emerged. It turns out that many kids who don't like speaking up in class are completely comfortable speaking up online. Students who don't like to raise their hands use the devices to ask questions or participate in collaborative problem solving. There appears to be something democratizing about having a "back channel" as part of the learning environment.

 As a former math teacher of 18 years I know how difficult it can be for students to ask questions about mathematics in front of their peers. Using the cell phones leveled the playing field for these students. I don't see how you can duplicate this result without the cell phones and the social networks that emerged around the devices.

 The other comment made by the author that I found interesting was that the "connected learning community had a significant and unanticipated impact on these students." Below is the quote in context:

Much of the teaching has also shifted to problem-based learning. I was fascinated to see an example of this on one visit. The students worked in groups to develop a public service announcement describing the dangers of compound interest and credit card debt. They then made a video of their commercial using their cell phones and posted it to the shared blog. Not only did they learn by discussing and debating as a team how best to communicate compound interest, but they then had the resulting video to refer to when it came time to review for the test. In fact, they had everyone's videos at their fingertips via their cell phone browsers. If one team's explanation didn't kindle the "aha" moment, another one just might. Once again, the connected learning community had a significant and unanticipated impact on these students.

As you read the article you will learn about the significant impact the project had on the students involved. What I find interesting is that it is not the device that had the impact, but the access the device provided. The mobile device allowed the learning to move beyond the four walls of the classroom and provided 24/7 access and enough of a barrier where students felt free to open up and discuss mathematics in creative ways. How do you accomplish this without the mobile devices?

The other interesting thing is that the social networking impact was unanticipated. The researchers did not plan for it. It happened organically. How exciting is that? I will be interested to see how Project K-Nect moves forward and what they discover about using cell phones in the classroom.