To think personal smartphones have no place in the classroom?

[Lookingforastronauts]

After trying to find DS new schools mobile phone policy, and failing after 20 mins searching online. Am I being unreasonable to think that mobile phones should be off and out of sight, or collected in a box at the start of a lesson (I suppose infection control prevents this atm)

DS complained about being bored in class because everyone had been asked to login to Google Classroom on their smart phone. He said he was bored and embarrassed because he didn't have one and had nothing to do.

Surely if this is part of lesson delivery the school should provide them?

They're sticklers for uniform, surely these rules should apply to phones as well?

It feels discriminatory to me.

Something to consider is that one of the reasons parents sometimes avoid giving their children smartphones is that they have shown they are unreliable or untrustworthy with them, or they have developed issues with addiction. The advice for which typically involves a total removal for a time at least.
It makes it very difficult for parents who have real problems like this, or who simply want to avoid their kids being attached to them all day which should be their prerogative.

Each school has their own policies and procedures. Asking school is the only way to know what is going on.

I don't think the school should be encouraging use of personal devices in lessons. Although the majority of students have phones now, there may be a few whose parents can't afford it or aren't allowed one.
Are the school no longer providing laptops ?

My child’s school do not allow people take out their phone in schools.

but every student get to borrow Chromebook from the school

But where I live, there are way too many homeless people and a huge homeless shelter here. So majority of the population can’t afford a phone so it is why the school provide Chromebook and few other things.

@Lookingforastronauts

When you're at work you get a work phone.

You don't use your personal number for work?

We don’t get work phones! Pre-Covid times my colleagues would give out their personal numbers, but I didn’t. During lockdown and beyond I’ve had to use my personal phone.

I’m a teacher. During lockdown I was expected to use my personal phone to contact my tutor group, I was expected to use my personal IT equipment to deliver online lessons. Now if we are isolating but not ill the same applies. Work from home using our own equipment. School does not, and never has, provided us with laptops or iPads. Don’t assume it’s the norm!!

If a teacher can enhance their teaching through asking students to use their phones then that’s fantastic. The world has changed and continues to do so at an ever increasing pace... we have to get on board with that!

This isn’t the 60s.
Practically everyone has a smartphone now. If you have chosen not to give your child one at secondary age then that’s your own fault.

When I’m at work, I Have to use my own phone. My work place hasn’t provided one.

Mobile phone are a useful tool, and embrace that is generally more useful than trying to ban (teens love to rebel). Generally I've seen them used as a time saver, but non essential eg. Either copy this or take a photo, look it up on phone or wait for your turn on 20 year old PC.

In this case it sounds like the teacher is trying to get the kids use to using Google classroom in case there's another lockdown. Are you sure that you haven't missed a communication about this, it may not explicitly say smart phones, possibly just an internet enabled device? I assume if you want you kid to use his laptop instead he could take it in, but most have chosen smart phones as there more covenant to carry/ cheaper/ most have them anyway.

PS. If you are unable to provide your son with a way to access Google classroom, please tell the school. The will probably be able to lend him something, maybe not a smart phone, but most will have a small supply of laptops or tablets.

OP - in one of your earlier posts you asked why didn’t they access google classroom on a device rather than a phone. That would be my thought too. But, in that case, Why didn’t your son use his device?

We have a BYOD policy. As does my daughter’s school. Any child who can’t afford a device can apply through the school. We’ve actually had this policy for years and have been using google classroom long before Covid.

A device is better for most things in a classroom because of its screen size, even before taking into account social media issues. However a phone is so useful for photos.

In the past week my students (Yr9-13) have used devices for:

• online textbooks (we can’t share books at the moment)
• researching people for Black History Month in tutor
• answering questions on pear deck (immediate answers to questions on a PowerPoint - similar to using a mini whiteboard that we also can’t use at the moment)
• short quizzes on google forms
• research on inorganic ions making links to other parts of the specification
• research on kidney transplants
• google scholar for their EPQs
• checking requirements for university applications
• specialist software to examine molecular structures

They have used smart phones for taking pictures of:

• colour changes in food tests
• heart dissection with little flags labelling the various parts
• photosynthesis experiments to send to buddies not in school
• cells down microscopes
• denaturing of proteins

As well as:

• checking timetables to see when they can meet with me for extra help
• apps such as decibel meters, photometers etc for measuring abiotic factors

My daughter is Year 7 and has taken pictures of tech, art, science, and videos in drama and sports. She also has apps for French vocab that she can use for practice.
I was very worried in the first few weeks as they all came to grips with social media but it has died down a bit. She can only download apps with my permission anyway and I have said that if she’s using an app with an age limit (eg What’s App) then I have the right to check it periodically to check she’s using it correctly.

If you can’t afford a device I would talk to the school as they will have funds to help. They shouldn’t have a lesson without advance warning of needing a device but the potential when using it correctly is amazing!!!