Since their advent, almost 20 years ago, the smartphone has become a ubiquitous and indispensable part of our daily lives. There are apps for almost everything you can imagine and probably some that you can't. Coupled with rapid developments under the overall concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) - sometimes labelled "everyware" the smartphone has become much more than a gateway to the internet and a communication device. We can use it to control most aspects of our lives including our shopping and managing our home, which includes such mundane things as closing the curtains (although these can be voice-activated too). I would not be surprised if there is an app (no I have not checked) for opening and closing the toilet seat and if there isn't one then it is only a matter of time. Smartphones and their inter-connectivity have revolutionised the way we live.
So, what about education?
Smartphones can and do have a role to play in education, but in the classroom they are nothing but a distraction. So now, after the clickbait title and introductory paragraph I am going to get down to what I really want to say today.
A couple of nights ago, I was watching a local news report about whether smartphones should be banned from the classroom. The story centred on a school in North East Lincolnshire where a ban on smartphones has been introduced. To implement the ban everybody (presumably the teachers too) had to place their smartphone in a special pouch which was then magnetically locked. These magnetic locks could then only be opened at home time using a special interface. In the meantime the children carried the pouches with them to ensure their phones were safe. Checks were done at entry points to the school to ensure no smartphones were secretly smuggled into the classroom.
The reporter invited a number of children, who were teenagers, to comment. I have to acknowledge that almost certainly the school cherry-picked the pupils which were interviewed, so it was more likely that it was their stars; polite well-behaved and academically minded individuals. This is part of the inevitable bias that surrounds us and it was the same in my day if the media ever turned up. The school wants to protect its reputation and project and positive image.
All of the pupils said something very similar, in that initially to caused a lot of anxiety (probably FOMO driven) and stress, but within a few days they found that they were able to concentrate better in their lessons and learn more. They also added that without the constant interruption of notifications that lessons flowed better, were far more interesting and that the teacher was much less irritable!
Just as a final note, yesterday I mentioned it to a client of mine who is a university student, so not much older than the pupils who were interviewed and she said that young people using smartphones as a way to emotionally regulate as it provides and escape and a switch off and especially through platforms such as TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts. She also acknowledged that while the do serve this purpose they are also extremely wasteful of time and that ultimately it is not healthy.
So all in all it seems that the smart way to proceed in the classroom is to ban the smartphone.
What do you think?
As always stay safe and well my friends.
