A study has just been studied finding that 94 percent of high school students accessed social media on their phones during class. It only covers Israeli students, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a similar percentage works for other countries, including the United States, too.
I was also struck by this finding:
It was also found that in classes with more permissive teachers, cell phone use was lower than in classes where the teacher imposed strict discipline.
I’m not a big fan of using cellphones in class for instruction, as I’ve previously discussed here ; here and here.
I am, however, clearly one of those “permissive” teachers. It’s sometimes an issue in my classes, though, in the scheme of other challenges, it’s not one of the major ones.
And I think it’s not a major issue because of our school’s ban on cellphone use, my “permissiveness,” and the fact that our classes are generally engaging…
I’d love to hear other thoughts on this study and cellphone use in your classes.
I think the vast majority of hs students have access, but the 94% may be a little high for our area. Whatever the percentage…teaching teachers how to use the social media, teaching students the importance of social media safety, and providing policies that allow the use of social media in a way that engages learners will be very important in the next 3 years. Teaching kids in our world and not theirs is something that needs to change.
I’m not proud about being a bear on any single thing, I have to admit how much I ahte cell phones and how much tougher I am on that rule. It would be too dangerous in my alternative education school to not enforce the cell phone rule. Sometimes I suddenly become extra happy and realize why. Teaching without cell phones in class! What could be more wonderful?
Larry, the word “permissive” should be replaced by the word “respectful.” It’s delightful to teach in a class where there’s mutual respect between the teacher and the students. And the respectful aspect includes the appropriate social distance between the teacher and the student, and the students understand that.