justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Pro or Con: Should students be able to use their cell phones in class?

There has been an ongoing debate about whether students should be able to keep their cell phones on and active during class. I know the majority of opinion is directed towards not allowing their use, but I have a contrarian viewpoint for the following reasons:

1.   A recent study has stated that people access their phones at least 100 times a day. It’s done even more frequently by millennials. It’s so much more than just a desire by students to keep their phones on. It’s now a deeply ingrained habit and accepted as quite normal behavior. 

2.   There is an excellent book by Cliff Atkinson, The Backchannel, which provides pretty compelling evidence why cell phones and the use of social media are changing the ways of presentations in class. An excerpt from Amazon.com states:

“Armed with laptops and smartphones, audiences today are no longer sitting quietly taking notes during live presentations. Instead, they’re carving out a new space in the room called the backchannel, where people are online searching for resources, checking your facts, and connecting with others inside the room and out.”

3.   Over the past three years, I’ve observed my very own business writing, business speaking, and professional selling classes working in the backchannel. There have been numerous instances where a student or a group of my students engaged in research on their own to bring current facts to the class’s attention (including this instructor’s) and provide definitions that enhanced the textbook information.

On one special occasion, an 18-year old mother of a two-year old used her cell phone as her media support for a final presentation. Her topic was finding critical resources for her home and family. This student did not have access to a computer to prepare the graphics she needed, so she used the search function on her phone to demonstrate how one might find those critical resources. By her hands-on demonstration, she encouraged other students to recognize the value of the searches as well.

Final comment: I find that a great deal of the resistance to allowing students to use their cell phones in class is related to the need for “control” on the part of the instructor. It’s been proven time and time again that the more students are engaged in their own learning, the more the learning will “stick.”

What do you think?