Wednesday 24 June 2015

To Allow or Ban Smart Phones in School

By Joan Pounds

The current crop of officials in the ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports admit that they left school with no idea how to turn on a computer.

Indeed, many were helpless each time a donor donated a set of computers, some to be used by their offices. Many had to attend classes where they were taught simple mundane skills such as turning on the computer, opening a document, saving it and printing. Over time, they came across the internet and social media, which many are still uncomfortable with.

The next generation of ministerial officials is currently in school and the debate over whether to be allowed to use smart phones and laptops is raging on.

The debate has been divided between those head teachers virulently opposed to allowing students to use any form of mobile phone in school despite acknowledging their importance, and those who think the devices should be allowed, albeit with some control.

To their credit, the ministry has decreed that information technology (IT) lessons must be conducted at A-level. But not all students are benefitting from these classes, as others are opting for subsidiary Mathematics.

However, to those still in school, the raging debate may not work in their favour. Time is running out and the students are aware that they could be out of place in tomorrow's workplace without the IT skills that come with using smart phones, laptops and iPads to access and use information.

A generation ago, it was unheard of to find a student using a calculator in class. Most worked out their numbers by head, or with the help of logarithm tables and slide rules. Today no one uses these devices; every learner must have a scientific calculator and there is no evidence that they are worse scientists than those that came a generation before.

It is time to actually acknowledge that without allowing smart phones, laptops and Ipads in school, today's generation of teachers are actually letting down tomorrow's workforce.

Today's head teachers need to educate themselves on how the devices work and find a way to combine learning with the use of these digital devices.

There is no doubt that the learning that the teachers are imparting on their students would be greatly enhanced by the use of IT.

If only the teachers knew how to use the same gadgets to help their students, while also reinforcing the age-old skills of self control, the knowledge of consequences of how they behave on social media and so on. The time to end the debate is now. As the debate ends, let us act with haste.

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