By Sarah Wong on January 16, 2019
Mobile Culture: A Worldly View
As we move to the age of using mobile devices in the classrooms to aid with student learning, there are a lot of opposing views towards this idea. According to an unreviewed source, when students are surveyed about if using their mobile device would help them in the classroom, 94% respond that they are for using mobile devices in the classroom. Just by doing a survey of my own classroom, I find that nearly 100% of the students would want to have their mobile devices on them. A lot of teachers still adopts a no cell phones policy in the classroom while some schools fully supports the use of mobile device. I have looked at a couple of articles about cell phone usage in classroom in different parts of the world.
England – Mobile devices are used for accessing Google calendars to keep students organized. Cameras are also use sometimes to take down teacher’s notes. Some students commented on being able to ask questions through face timing with the teacher as well. These are all positive ways in which mobile devices are beneficial for students.
US – Another study done in the US shows more students are worried about mobile device being a distraction in class. For Example, phones ringing, snap chatting, getting a message, or cheating. Despite these concerns, a good percentage of students were still using their mobile phones for school-related work.
Africa – Particularly in South Africa, using mobile devices in the classroom seems to be limited to connecting with friends to check on homework or using the calculator. It seems like there are more negative impact from distractions while using the mobile devices in class. Most of these distractions come ring tones when calls or message are received. In addition a surprising amount of students reported seeing their teacher using a phone during a lessons but because of the culture, students are rarely given the chance to speak up about their concerns.
References:
Grant, M.M, Tamim, S., Brown, D.B., Sweeney, J.P., Ferguson, F.K., & Jones, L.B. (2015). Teaching and learning with mobile computing devices: Case study in K-12 classrooms. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 59(4), 32-45. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11528-015-0869-3
Thomas, K, & Muñoz, MA. (2016). Hold the phone! High school students’ perceptions of mobile phone integration in the classroom. American Secondary Education, 44(3), 19-37. DOI: https://www.ashland.edu/coe/about-college/american-secondary-education-journal
Walker, R. (2013). I don’t think I would be where I am right now: Pupil perspectives on using mobile devices for learning. Research in Learning Technology, 21, 1-12. DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v21i2.22116
Websites:
http://theconversation.com/how-mobile-phones-are-disrupting-teaching-and-learning-in-africa-59549
This post provides some relatively new research talking about students’ attitudes toward using mobile phones in the classroom. This topic closely connects to the day-to-day practice of teachers. Unfortunately, mobile devices and mobile culture aim to keep people “connected” and “online” as long as they can. Mobile devices are designed for commercial purposes, not educational purposes. The latter requires students’ “disconnection” and concentration. The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of allowing mobile devices in classrooms will not be easily finished.