There are varying opinions on whether mobile phones, a part of popular culture, should be used within the curriculum or be banned at school. Recently there have been posts on Facebook about the banning mobile phones in UK schools, stating that students are “more engaged and concentrating in lessons and learning” when they do not have the distraction of their mobile phones.
This same concept is going to be started at the beginning of 2020 in Victoria as announced in a press release by the Premier in June. Again, the reasoning is to reduce distractions in the classroom and improve the overall results of students. The rule for Victoria does have exceptions, for those with health needs and for certain activities in the classroom where the teachers state the technology is required.
There are issues that need to be addressed before using this technology within the classroom. Cyberbullying has become an issue as it is easy to be anonymous and to make messages go viral, and quickly (Keengwe et al., 2014; O’Bannon & Thomas, 2014). Students also can be disrupted by these devices when they ring or even vibrate during their classes, they can easily access inappropriate content either online or through their peers, and can easily engage in cheating with such wide access these devices offer (Keengwe et al., 2014; O’Bannon & Thomas, 2014).
For some schools the easiest way to stop this from happening is to ban mobile phones altogether (Gabor & Peter). This is an easy solution and has had positive affects in some schools such as those reported in the UK, but does not help students become responsible with the technology. Part of a teacher’s responsibility is to equip students with the skills to be ready to be a part of the world we live in (Keengwe et al., 2014) and by banning these devices teachers are not helping improve student digital citizenship, a critical 21st century skill (Keengwe et al., 2014).
Is this the best way to increase student engagement? Are there ways to utilise this technology to improve student learning?
Smart phones have rapidly become more powerful (Gabor & Peter, 2015) and offer more opportunities than ever, with their cameras, applications (apps), access to internet, entertainment options, and more (Keengwe et al., 2014).
Teachers need to realise that mobile phones can be a great resource in education (Gabor & Peter, 2015). Professional development can assist them to understand and to know when these devices can be used effectively in their teaching and learning (Krahenbuhl, 2018) and how to keep students focused whilst engaging with their devices (Keengwe et al., 2014). Technology such as mobile phones has a potential to have a positive impact on engagement and learning within the classroom (Krahenbuhl, 2018; Keengwe et al., 2014) with more than two thirds of 8-18 year olds having access to smart phone devices (Keengwe, et al., 2014) making it easy for students to engage with technology within the classroom to support their creativity (Ranieri & Bruni, 2016) and offer new ways to engage with content (O’Bannon & Thomas, 2014).
As a music teacher there are many ways mobiles can be used in classroom activities and in preparation for assessment. There are fantastic apps available for composing on mobile phones, including GarageBand for iPhones and iPads, and Soundtrap which can be used across many different devices. Students can also access apps such as SoundCloud or YouTube to analyse compositions of others for inspiration, which are blocked through the school network.
For the performers, being able to easily video to enable reflection on their work helps them improve. Vocalists can use their phones to find the lyrics to songs and access backing tracks from sites that are otherwise blocked by the Department of Education’s filter.
Mentoring is now a key part of Music Extension (General), with students required to access a mentor or other source, which can include tutorials on sites such as YouTube to help guide them to become better musicians. They can also send their work to professionals across the globe as this technology helps people connect world-wide (Keengwe et al., 2014).
Despite the challenges that can arise from having mobile phones in the classroom, these devices have a positive impact on classroom learning. Students are more engaged when using this technology, giving them access to resources that will improve their experiences and their achievement. With training and planning it is possible to use mobile technology at appropriate times in the classroom for learning, whilst ensuring there are activities where students switch off and engage in more traditional ways of learning, helping to prepare them for their future in this world.
References
Andrews, D. (2019, June 26). Mobile phones to be banned next year in all state schools [Press release]. Retrieved from https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/mobile-phones-to-be-banned-next-year-in-all-state-schools/
Keengwe, J., Schnellert, G., & Jonas, D. (2014). Mobile phones in education: Challenges and opportunities for learning. Education and Information Technologies, 19(2), 441-450. doi: 10.1007/s10639-012-9235-7
Krahenbuhl, K. S. (2018). Principles of learning in the technology-enhanced classroom. In A. A. Khan & U. Sajid (Eds.), Handbook of research on mobile devices and smart gadgets in K-12 education (pp. 77-86). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/reader.action?docID=4923202&query=
O’Bannon, B. W., & Thomas, K. (2014). Teacher perceptions of using mobile phones in the classroom: Age matters! Computers & Education, 74, 15-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.01.006
Ranieri, M., & Bruni, I. (2016). Create, transform and share: Empowering creativity and self-expression through mobile learning. In D. Parsons (Ed.), Mobile and blended learning innovations for improved learning outcomes, (pp. 159-179). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/detail.action?docID=4526794
Selwyn, N. (2019). Banning mobile phones in schools: Beneficial or risky? Here’s what the evidence says. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/banning-mobile-phones-in-schools-beneficial-or-risky-heres-what-the-evidence-says-119456
Wightwick, A. (2019, September 19). School completely bans mobile phones and teachers say kids’ behaviour changes. Wales Online. Retrieved from http://walesonline.co.uk
Popular Culture 
What happened in UK that your post shows also happened in my country. Recently, one famous school signed contract with parents that teachers can confiscate students’ mobile phones inside school. That started a debate. Some people think this action is a violation of privacy, because mobile phones are students’ personal belongings. Some people think it is a good way to do student management and protect learning outcomes.
From your post, we can see people point out various harmful influences of mobile phones, like doing harm to children’s eyes, distraction of school learning. But also there are various positive things. For instance, digital tools can increase students’ engagement. Those ideas also exist in country.
It inspires me to reflect our curriculums and teaching plans. Why mobile phone seems more attractive to students? How can I balance students’ interest and learning outcome? I should explore those questions.
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I think that as you said: balance is the key. Balancing their interests with the learning but also balancing between technology and other stimulus and activities.
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The use of mobile phones in the school classroom has been quite a topical discussion of late. As you mention, Victoria is taking the stance of a total ban, but I agree with your post that we need to educate the students to be equipped to manage technology. However, is this a duty for the teacher or the parent or both? I think from an educational point of a view a mobile phone has limitless potential in digital literacies. The problem facing most schools is that they do not have the financial support to provide software, staff and resources that can monitor or block illegal sites or social media. As a teacher that is regularly organising sporting fixtures, the banning of mobile phones creates more pressure on the teacher in communicating with parents when tours are late or that weather has cancelled games. But on the flip side, it would save the teacher a lot of repetition of asking students to put their phones away, so they can talk to each other face to face. Some very good discussion points for around the staffroom!
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Oh yes definitely some good discussion points! And there is always a time and place for everything and really there needs to be clear rules that make that clear. I think that it is definitely something the parents should do but for some students, school is where they learn a lot more skills than we should need to teach!
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SO RELEVANT and good to get a perspective of a subject area that can also be deemed an area where it is perhaps extra-difficult to manage. As a HPE teacher it seems this comes under the Health curriculum to be addressing, but after years of teaching health concerns in a way of “do this because we say”, I found it more impacting and relevant to the overall education system of today to teach in a way that says “do this, for you” and to guide them in hopefully realising the need to better and self-manage their phone use (in the neo-liberal manner). I think that where possible we should offer guided expectations that look at the reason WHY they are set. In much the way that Sineck (1997) describes that it is the ‘why’ (rather than how and what) we do that will see the most followers in leadership towards a common goal.
If we truly are preparing students for the 21st Century, it’s been said that many of their jobs don’t even exist at this point and will likely require them to continually adapt to different jobs, organisations and their expectations. Again, I believe this requires us to teach them to be adaptive, independent and strategic thinkers. For me, in HPE I’ve encouraged this and saw (and allowed them) to use their phones for many creative ways:
– timing in workouts and sports games (to pace better in triathlons, set appropriate game subbing and timing)
– video recording their technique and interactions, for biomechanical analysis and social interaction evaluations
– check the sports news for current issues to analyse not only the story but its source
– use music to pump up their motivation and calm them in meditation
– contact and collect each other for sports games, training and even classes (where they’ve even used their snapchat to locate their mates – who in some instances were truanting)
These were all their independent and innovative ideas and helped me see that IT is useful, relevant and important in education. It was passion for learning, relationships and guidance that saw them ask EVERY single time if they could use their phones for these (and many more) ways of learning, in a heavily phone-restrictive school.
There were other students in my leadership (especially as a Year Level Coordinator) that weren’t so respectful of the College rules, used it inappropriately (eg. cyberbullying) and became addicted that I found the most benefit in explaining the reason ‘why’ they were receiving appropriate consequences (eg. confiscations) was because they weren’t adhering to the overall intention of schools being communities for learning.
This is a great topic and very thought-provoking! Perhaps the ’21st Century skills’ area of your blog could be more of a focal point and have support through these documents:
– https://research.acer.edu.au/research_conference/RC2019/4august/4/
– https://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Information_Sheet_A_world-class_curriculum_for_the_21st_century.pdf
– https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/senior-subjects/general-subjects/21st-century-skills
– https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/723e/c36a531227a534d2cec629487bbc3d1ca428.pdf
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Thanks for those links, Roxy! 21st century skills are something I’ve been focussing a lot with our new curriculums rolling out.
It’s great to see that you are interacting with this technology in your HPE area too – there are many useful ways to use these devices in many different areas. Unfortunately, it is those few students that do use their phones in inappropriate ways that can ruin the learning experiences for others.
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Such an important topic right now (and probably for the foreseeable future), and it’s great to get the perspective of a music teacher. I’m a self-taught musician who hopes to have the opportunity at some stage teach junior music at some stage (though technically I’m only qualified to be an English/history teacher…). In English, I see many similar opportunities in terms of relevance and engagement. I see mobile phones as a tool that can really help students immerse themselves in texts. In a music classroom, I can picture even more applications… Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to cut through the hysteria that often accompanies this subject and have rational conversations about tangible benefits to students.
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It is hard to cut through the hysteria and convince people that there are meaningful ways we can use mobile phones in our classrooms. As Roxy pointed out above there will still be students that use this technology in inappropriate ways which will, in some cases, ruin it for the students (and teachers) that are doing the wrong thing.
Best of luck with the teaching of music in the future! I’m sure you will get the opportunity – I have had to teach Maths over a number of years, English and SOSE despite only being trained to teach classroom music! It has been a while but I think in 2020 I will be taking on a different subject again to fill my timetable!
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