• Talk to pupils about opportunities and problems with smartphones.
• Establish reward systems
• Engage with children
• Support teachers (watch video)

Perhaps, the fifth suggestion should be, “Ban smartphones in schools.” School is only about 8 hours out of the day. Leave smartphones for what happens afterwards. But it’s hard to put the “Genie back in the bottle,” right? It’s almost impossible to ask students to deposit their smartphones in an over the door shoe, er smartphone, holder. Then, forget about them while they are “learning.” Or, secure them in a lockbox, as some schools do.

 It seems a bit excessive to come up with all these expectations that ADD work and effort to the classroom that are extraneous to what needs to be happening in schools–teaching and learning. My gosh, Professor Andy wants teachers to get more support teaching with smartphones. Really? And, who’s going to track these reward systems?

The truth is, smartphones had their chance to make a positive impact in teaching and learning. Don’t say they didn’t. You and I both know that many school administrators turned a blind eye to smartphones, recognizing that students would simply ignore cell phone bans.

Smartphones and Mental Health

Consider Jonathan Haidt’s points in this The Atlantic article:,

To the teachers and administrators I spoke with, this wasn’t merely a coincidence. They saw clear links between rising phone addiction and declining mental health, to say nothing of declining academic performance. A common theme in my conversations with them was: We all hate the phones. Keeping students off of their devices during class was a constant struggle. Getting students’ attention was harder because they seemed permanently distracted and congenitally distractible. 

Drama, conflict, bullying, and scandal played out continually during the school day on platforms to which the staff had no access. I asked why they couldn’t just ban phones during school hours. They said too many parents would be upset if they could not reach their children during the school day.

And, while smartphones are perceived to be helpful by some during active shooter situation, others say, “No.”

Smartphones and Gun Violence

Phones, even in an active shooter situation, end up being a distraction to working to protect yourself:

People peering into phones “lose all awareness of what is going on
around them,” which can increase the likelihood of being hurt, said Jaclyn Schildkraut,
a researcher on school and mass shootings and executive director of the
Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Nelson A. Rockefeller
Institute of Government in New York.

“You’re putting yourself at greater risk because you’re not actively working to protect yourself,” she said. Phones should not be pinging with messages either — or even used in silent mode during an active shooter incident, she said. After the crisis subsides, students can connect with parents, she said. (source)

What Evidence Shows

In education, we pride ourselves about relying on the evidence. Now that the evidence is in, why are we persisting mis-labeling smartphone use in classrooms as a top-down control issue? Or that smartphones will be “Messianic Tech” or “savior tech” (my own term) like other edtech solutions already proven to be nothing more than distractions in schools?

Without a plan, professional learning for teachers, community organization and education for parents and students, smartphones are a disaster. Even with those key actions being taken, smartphone notifications distract students at critical times in the classroom.

It’s time to accept that our technologies, at this time in the lives of children, aren’t going to universally deliver on the promises of edtech. Instead, it’s time to let that idea go and accept the evidence. 

If you don’t think there’s enough evidence to justify a ban, then it’s time for more serious study.

Smartphone bans…just do it.