Technology

Billions of people around the world cannot imagine life without a smartphone. It's been exactly 20 years since the first such phone appeared on the market. Ever since mobile phones entered our lives in the new millennium, the debate about what bad effects has started.  Teachers and educators around the world have been debating the use of cell phones in the classroom.

According to the Daily Telegraph, France had a total ban the use of cell phones in primary and secondary schools starting September 2018. The phones are already banned in French classrooms, but from the beginning of last school year,  students were forbidden to use them during lunch and during classes.  Today, this is happening in Ontario, Canada. According to Jones (2019), as of next September, there will be a ban on cell phones in Ontario classrooms.  The provincial education minister has stated that students should focus on learning and not their phones. Cell phones should be banned in the classroom because of privacy, concentration and cheating.

Children should not be allowed to have cell phones in the classroom due to privacy issues.  Privacy is a sensitive category nowadays when everyone can record you, photograph or disturb you with a mobile phone. In our life, an important part is privacy that helps us to maintain our own autonomy and individuality. A student with his cell phone can take photos of his classmates and publish them online without his/her permission and consent. Privacy is violated by this act. As a result, the student and classmate  have mutual distrust, anger, anxiety and violated interpersonal relationships.  Smith Legal says on their website that at any time if you take another person’s photo without permission  even if you are in the picture, you break the law (Fox News, 2016).  This means a child could have a criminal record or even go to jail by violating someone’s privacy.  Many children do not completely understand the consequences of these actions. In conclusion, cell phones should be banned to protect young children and protect privacy.

Children should not be allowed to have cell phones in the classroom because they prevent them from concentrating on school. Mobile phones affect the concentration of children with video games, loud messages, sound or vibration. Concentration is an important factor in the teaching process. Children need to pay full attention in meeting the goals and tasks of the school. When we have a disturbed concentration in the class, it is destroyed. In class, children must be careful about what happens and what their tasks and responsibilities are. In fact, children come to school to receive study habits, and concentration is one of the most important. Concentration is an important factor for learning success. According to studies by Belland and Murphy, published by the London School of Economics Economic Center for Economic Performance, after schools banned mobile phones,  the test scores of students aged 16 improved by 6.4%, which was equal to plus five days to the school year (Doward, 2015).  In conclusion, concentration is important for learning and cell phones are a distraction.

Cell phones should be banned from Ontario classrooms to prevent cheating.Today, cheating is increasing with mobile phones. Students cheat for many reasons. One is to achieve good results on tests. Cheating has become a trend with smartphones. Students use small, almost invisible digital bluetooth headphones through which they get information, or the answer on a test. Cell phones have the ability to memorize a lot of information which is impossible for a normal student to remember. Cheating needs to be reduced, so cell phones should be prohibited. Recently it has been reported that one in three students use a cell phone to cheat on exams.(Zarra, 2018). This research provides alarming data on classroom cheating. In conclusion, cheating is dangerous for students because it deters them from the essence of their educational goal, the development of natural memory and intelligence.

In conclusion, I can say the banning of cell phones in the classroom is necessary as soon as possible. Its implementation should be generally accepted by students and teachers to maintain privacy, concentration and stop cheating. The education system will soon feel the benefit of this action.

Reference List:

Doward, J.  (2015, May). Schools that ban mobile phones see better academic results.  The Guardian.  Retrieved from:  https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/may/16/schools-mobile-phones-academic-results

Jones, A. (2019). Ontario to ban cellphones from classrooms during instructional time.  The Canadian Press.  Retrieved from:  https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ontario-to-ban-cellphones-from-classrooms-during-instructional-time-1.4332208

People posting your photos without permission?  It’s illegal. (2015, Nov 20). Fox8Live.  Retrieved from:  https://www.fox8live.com/story/30572878/people-posting-your-photos-without-permission-its-illegal/

Zarra, E. (2018). One in three students use cell phones to cheat on exams. Retrieved from: https://drerniezarra.com/dr-zarras-blog/f/one-in-three-students-use-cell-phones-to-cheat-on-exams-305b7dd09269