Children should be allowed to use their mobile phones in class because they can serve as `learning aids`, a study claims today.
Academics are calling on schools to rethink bans on phone handsets after trials suggested that functions such as calculators, stopwatches and email can be 鈥榚ducational鈥?
However the call is certain to infuriate many teachers and parents, who will be concerned that pupils will be unable to resist the temptation to put the devices to less productive uses, such as cyber-bullying or cheating in tests.
During a nine-month experiment involving classes aged 14 to 16, pupils either used their own mobiles in lessons or the new generation of 鈥榮martphones鈥?which allow internet connection.
They were used to create short films, set homework reminders, record a teacher reading a poem and time experiments with the phones鈥?stopwatches.
The smartphones also allowed pupils to access revision websites, log into the school email system or transfer electronic files between school and home.
The study by researchers at Nottingham University involved 331 pupils in schools in Cambridgeshire, West Berkshire and Nottingham.
鈥楢t the start of the study, even pupils were often surprised at the thought that mobile phones could be used for learning, 鈥楧r. Elizabeth Hartnell-Young will tell the annual conference of the British Educational Research Association in Edinburgh later today. 鈥楢fter their hands-on experience, almost all pupils said they had enjoyed the project and felt more motivated.鈥?br>
One teacher told researchers that students like mobiles and they know how to use them.
鈥楿sing this technology gives them more freedom to express themselves without needing to be constantly supervised, 鈥榯he teacher said.
However, the report admits that some teachers think greater use of mobile phones in schools could prove problematic.
Increased temptation to steal phones belonging to the school was one worry.
鈥業 thought, well, four of these smartphones are going to end up on eBay tomorrow,鈥?one teacher said.
Other concerns related to cheating and taking inappropriate images or recording of teachers.
Allowing pupils to access school emails vie mobiles would be also pose data security risks if passwords were shared, they said.
More than 90 per cent of secondary school pupils have their own mobile phones but theirs use is often forbidden on school premises.
Some schools ban them outright while others insist they must be kept switched off expect in emergencies or outside lesson time.
However the study found that despite the bans, some pupils were using their phones in class, including as cameras and to make calls to friends.
Dr. Hartnell-Young said:鈥?While the eventual aim should be to lift blanket bans on phones, we do not recommend immediate, whole school change.
鈥業nstead we believe that teachers, students and the wider community should work together to develop policies that will enable this powerful new learning tool to be used safely鈥?
I'd summarize like this; "The person who conducted this study owns a lot of stock in cell phone companies. children should be allowed to use their mobile phones in class because they can serve as `learning aids`, a study claims today.
Academics are calling on schools to rethink bans on phone handsets after trials suggested that functions such as calculators, stopwatches and email can be 鈥榚ducational鈥?
However the call is certain to infuriate many teachers and parents, who will be concerned that pupils will be unable to resist the temptation to put the devices to less productive uses, such as cyber-bullying or cheating in tests.
During a nine-month experiment involving classes aged 14 to 16, pupils either used their own mobiles in lessons or the new generation of 鈥榮martphones鈥?which allow internet connection.
They were used to create short films, set homework reminders, record a teacher reading a poem and time experiments with the phones鈥?stopwatches.
The smartphones also allowed pupils to access revision websites, log into the school email system or transfer electronic files between school and home.
The study by researchers at Nottingham University involved 331 pupils in schools in Cambridgeshire, West Berkshire and Nottingham.
鈥楢t the start of the study, even pupils were often surprised at the thought that mobile phones could be used for learning, 鈥楧r. Elizabeth Hartnell-Young will tell the annual conference of the British Educational Research Association in Edinburgh later today. 鈥楢fter their hands-on experience, almost all pupils said they had enjoyed the project and felt more motivated.鈥?br>
One teacher told researchers that students like mobiles and they know how to use them.
鈥楿sing this technology gives them more freedom to express themselves without needing to be constantly supervised, 鈥榯he teacher said.
However, the report admits that some teachers think greater use of mobile phones in schools could prove problematic.
Increased temptation to steal phones belonging to the school was one worry.
鈥業 thought, well, four of these smartphones are going to end up on eBay tomorrow,鈥?one teacher said.
Other concerns related to cheating and taking inappropriate images or recording of teachers.
Allowing pupils to access school emails vie mobiles would be also pose data security risks if passwords were shared, they said.
More than 90 per cent of secondary school pupils have their own mobile phones but theirs use is often forbidden on school premises.
Some schools ban them outright while others insist they must be kept switched off expect in emergencies or outside lesson time.
However the study found that despite the bans, some pupils were using their phones in class, including as cameras and to make calls to friends.
Dr. Hartnell-Young said:鈥?While the eventual aim should be to lift blanket bans on phones, we do not recommend immediate, whole school change.
鈥業nstead we believe that teachers, students and the wider community should work together to develop policies that will enable this powerful new learning tool to be used safely鈥? |
