Comments on Profile Post by ArkWarrior1

They're so much fun though. I'd write papers over tests anytime! :D

I absolutely love research papers. However, my teacher has put soooo many restrictions on this one, so it makes it so hard to write and is causing me to make a lot of mistakes.

What is the topic?

Cell phones in the classroom. I am all for using them to further learning in the 21st Century.

Gonna play devil's advocate on ya: Could they also be a hinderance? I'm currently evaluating a course as part of a grant I'm working on and I haven't seen phones used for academic purposes. Mainly for texting and instagramming, among other things.

I feel that while that is a common problem, schools need to do more than just take away the phone or implement a rule saying "no phones." They need to use the time kids are spending on their phones for learning. Whether this is research, note taking, projects or field trip activities, cell phones have many more uses than just to text a friend or Instagram a selfie.

Both my parents work at schools as teachers and administrators, so this is a topic that I have been around my entire life and I am very passionate about.

There are studies I can point out which show that laptop involvement in taking notes results in a full grade point decrease on examinations on the content when compared to people who take notes manually without laptops. Could it be feasible this applies for all technology?

Like most anything in education, it depends on the student. For me, having notes and projects available on the cloud or on our phones helps tremendously.

I am not saying that paper and pencil notes should be completely eradicated, but I am saying that if students prefer to work with laptops or their phones, they should be allowed to.

For some students, physically writing notes with their pencil helps them learn better, so they should be allowed to do that as well.

Finished my paper. I also hope to give my teacher some things to think about considering how anti-technology he is.

So your approach would basically be acknowledging that it is a distraction, but we're attacking the issue from the wrong direction?

i.e. viewing cell phones as a complete liability without looking at its potential as an asset.

Yes, I feel that many schools only see the negatives behind cell phones and they don't do much solve the problem other than banning them altogether. I completely agree that cyberbullying, and inappropriate cell phone use are a legitimate concern, but there are more things we can do to to stop it.