Most kids today from the young age of just two are exposed to cell phones daily. So do they have an effect on children and learning?

On one hand, it’s bad. Because they are very distracting. In the classroom some kids have to be continuously told to put their phone down. They always want to keep texting someone or be on social media instead of participating in class. Every time the phone makes a noise or vibrates, they check it without even thinking about what might happen or what it might be. The phones are very addictive as well. Some kids refuse to let go of their phones as if it were a video game they need to complete. They also make kids less social. Instead of spending time with others, they hide behind their phone screens and text them. Instead of going outside and doing something, they want to stay hidden in their rooms and play games or watch videos on their phones. And with our phones getting bigger and smarter, this can become an even bigger issue.

But on the other hand, it can be good. Because we can do almost anything with a phone. You don’t have to keep tons of papers to study, you could pull up a website and study there. You don’t have to wait to tell your students something when you could just send out a message. You don’t have to write notes, you can type them and access them easier and faster. Many teachers have their students use their phones or computers in class. They have them take quizzes online and practice on apps. Most teachers use Kahoot and other websites to help prepare students for tests and future projects. They put together a practice test online and have their students log in and play the game to practice.

One study, published in the journal Educational Psychology, two researchers divided 118 college students into two groups. They were each enrolled in the same course, taught the same material, by the same person. The only difference being that one of the two groups was allowed technology for non-classroom purposes. The class with the technology scored almost half a letter grade lower on exams than the other. For some students, that’s the difference between passing and failing.

The problem is that they were able to use it for non-school related purposes. If they were using them to participate in the class, they may have scored better. They could have used them to look up a definition or had the teacher create a practice quiz online for them to use. But because they were distracted by social media and other things, they scored lower. They weren’t paying attention to what the teacher was saying, but the phone in their hand. They could have set a reminder for when the tests were or when they had to be done. Or used them for calculators or a dictionary. But they were too busy texting their friends or the game they needed to finish.

Teachers can also use technology for classwork. They can use a website called “poll everywhere” where they can send out questions and the students can answer by texting a number back. They can also use “Kahoot” which allows them to create quizzes and the students can compete to be number one by getting the questions correct and answering quickly. They can also take a picture of the notes and put them on a website that the students can access for them to study. These things can become handy for those who are constantly missing school and need to make up work. Instead of borrowing and copying notes from the teacher or another student, they can go to a website and have them there. So maybe the problem isn’t the phones, it’s the way we use them.

Students check their phones on average eleven times a day. Meaning that they are constantly stressed and needing to make up work instead of doing it when they get it to get it done. But they are on their phones for at least 20% of the class time. Maybe if students had to put their phones in a locker or in a certain spot every day during class, they wouldn’t be as distracted, getting more work done and being less stressed about it. After they are done or everyone is done with their work, then they should be able to get their phones back. Then they should be less stressed and frustrated when they have extra work.

There are major drawbacks to having cell phones in classrooms though. Even though they can be used for educational purposes, they can also be used for cheating and other things. Most kids refuse to set their phones down in class and are always distracted by them. This can cause a disruption in the classroom because teachers always need to tell them to set the phone down. They can also use certain apps to cheat and text friends for answers to classwork.

So if students can use their phones for educational purposes and aren’t always using them for other things, should they be banned and taken away like other schools? Taking or banning them can add more stress than they already have because of the anxiety of not having it with them and the parents not being able to contact their children when needed. So if we only allow students on their phones when everyone is done working or for schoolwork, maybe there would be less stress and better grades.