Cell Phones In The Classroom Research Paper

Kennedy Hamlin

Mrs. Gallos

English 3 Honors

29 March 2018

A Twenty-First Century Problem:

Cell Phone Usage in the Classroom

Even though banning cell phones reduce distractions in the classroom, phones should be allowed in the classroom, but restricted to school work because it offers more learning opportunities and gets kids excited about learning. There are numerous benefits and downsides to allowing technology in the classroom. Having cell phones and other electronic devices in the classroom can be integrated into the curriculum. However, these resources might also be harming the children who use them repeatedly over time.

Do cell phones in the classroom cause students to cheat more? There is a blank space between whether

Even if most teens could stay concentrated on their school work, the ones who use their devices for anything else are a distraction not only to themselves, but their peers. Kids do not have the ability to multitask, so when given the opportunity to use their beloved devices or pay attention to class they will more than likely choose the electronics. "We know that medium to heavy multitaskers, who engage in multiple forms of media simultaneously, tend to demonstrate smaller gray matter area in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is the area of the brain responsible for top-down attention control” (Sandee LaMotte, CNN). The term nomophobia is a term created to explain the feeling of fear of not being able to use your cell phone or other electronic device. There are 3 different levels of nomophobia. People with severe nomophobia experience very high levels of anxiety when they do not have access to their device, whereas someone who is mildly nomophobic can go a small amount of time without checking the

The logic is simple: if you take away their phone they can not be distracted by it. There is also a new company who sells pouches that lock phones so they can not be used. The pouch gets closed and is locked in until the end of the school day. The only way it can be unlocked and used is if an administrator uses a device similar to security devices like in department stores. However, many professionals think the better way is to take “tech breaks — when teachers pause the class and allow students to check their phones. It could start with shorter intervals, like every 15 minutes, and gradually work up to every 30 minutes or more” ("A School's Way). Because it induces less separation anxiety and still allows students to communicate with their friends and parents.

Even though banning cell phones reduce distractions in the classroom, phones should be allowed in the classroom, but restricted to school work because it offers more learning opportunities and gets kids excited about learning. By researching for this paper I have learned the benefits and the negative effects of technology, both in the classroom and in the outside world. Through this research I have also learned about the different technologies that have been developed to keep distractions down in the