Are more students failing in school because of cell phones and other technological devices?

Hello readers,
As an educator it has been proven that the grades of our children have been put in jeopardy by the use of cell phones. The article below shares my feelings about the
subject. What is your opinion? Texting and Cell Phone Distractions


Collect It!

By Russell A. Sabella, Ph.D.
GuardingKids.com

Today’s cell phones are more than just phones, they are high-tech gadgets that also serve as a mini-computers. Today’s cell phones allow users to surf the web, conduct text chats with others, take photos, record video, download and listen to music, play games, update blogs, send instant text messages, keep a calendar and to-do list, and much more. For children and teenagers, they allow for anytime, anywhere communication especially with friends. With cell phones, children are always only a few buttons away, highly connected and instantaneously available. Parents who allow their children to have cell phones feel secure that they too can contact their sons and daughters at a moment’s notice.

Many parents also feel relieved to know that their children have easy access to them and to emergency personnel if needed. For instance, a cell phone is especially convenient for kids who participate in after school activities such as sports or clubs. If the activity ends early or late, or has been canceled, kids can call their parents to let them know about the changes. Kids can also call their parents to ask for permission should last-minute changes in their plans occur. Some parents even use their children’s cell phones as tracking devices that allow them to identify their child’s location at any time which would certainly come in handy in the event of a kidnapping or lost child.1 From a parent’s perspective, these are all good reasons to supply our children with cell phones. However, the convenience that cell phones offer us must be judged against the hazards they pose to all people and especially the cell phone user. The remainder of this chapter reviews the downsides of child cell phone use and provides recommendations for parents to consider.

Problem

     According to (Johnson, 2010),  Many schools have banned the use of laptops, netbooks, cell phones, PDAs, iPod/MP3 players, and portable game players. Educators are discovering that students are more interested in online resources, such as Facebook, game sites, chat, and YouTube, than classroom lectures and textbook chapters about the Crimean War, square roots, or past participles.(Johnson, 2010)  There are various non-academic needs of students that often go unmet, If we invest in them, the social distractions and disadvantages are reduced and the academic needs have a greater opportunity to flourish. (Antonio, 2009).

    

     There is not a silver-bullet solution to students tuning out succesfull.  When we were high school students long before there were iPads and Wi- Fi,  we were distracted too. Those attentiion grabbers were simply things like being distracted by classmates both male and female, doodling, as well as looking at the view out of a classroom window. Just as good teachers have never relied on a single method, approach, or tool, today’s good teachers will never use a single technology in a single way. 

    

References

Antonio, Chad (2009), Middle School and Administrator Perceptions of the Whole Child Professional

         Development Program Based on the PA School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (Doctoral

         disseration), Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases, Saint Josephs   

         University (Publicaiton No. Ed 513144)

Johnson, D. (2010). Taming the Chaos. Learning & Leading with Technology v38(n3), 20-23.