Discussion on Cell Phones in School

Many people debate about whether or not cell phones should be allowed in school. There are many disadvantages and advantages that might sway your opinion about cell phones in school. Some of the advantages include educational apps, access to additional information, and using social media to engage students. Disadvantages include cheating, cyberbullying, and distractions. In this paper you will learn about the many reasons why cell phones should or shouldn’t be allowed in school.

Cell phones may be helpful in school for the use of educational apps. Students could be assigned to use an app that will help them learn. If they are struggling with the lesson when they are doing their homework they can use an app to help them understand. When the students are in school and they are working, educational apps could be helpful if they don’t have the opportunity to have one-on-one time with the teacher. This strategy could improve many students grades.

Another advantage of having cell phones in school is that they provide access to additional information that will help the students. Many students struggle to find the information they are looking for quickly. For example, if a student doesn’t know a word that the teacher used, they can quickly look it up so they understand what they are learning. Students can look up information to help them succeed.
Teachers might incorporate social media into the lessons and assignments. This helps the students interact and engage more. If a student is allowed to use social media to help them learn it might be more interesting for them. If they are interested in what they are working on they will have a better mindset. This could possibly improve students grades.

Even though there are many reasons why cell phones can be extremely useful in school, some believe that they should not be allowed. One of the reasons is that cell phones can be a distraction from class. Instead of using it as a tool, some students use their phones to play games, watch videos, or do many of the other things they have access to on their cell phones. If students are using their phones for entertainment during class they can fall behind in their classes. Students may receive bad grades as a result of distractions.

Cyberbullying is a huge problem all over the world. Some people use social media in a negative way to bully or harass other students. There are many forms of cyberbullying that take place daily. One out of ten teenagers have had embarrassing and damaging pictures of themselves taken and posted without permission and only one in ten victims tell a parent or an adult about the situation. Cyberbullying has become one of the most common forms of bullying or harassment because eighty percent of teens use cell phones regularly. Cyberbullying can harm students, cause them to get bad grades, affect their mental health, or even destroy the victim’s lives.

Another issue caused by cell phones in school is cheating. Students might use their phone to look up answers or take pictures of their textbooks to find information they need on an exam. Almost one in four middle and high school students think that keeping notes in their cell phone to look at during an exam or texting while taking a test is not considered cheating. A survey was done on 2,000 teenagers and thirty-five percent of the teenagers have cheated on a test or exam by using their cell phones. This is one of the main reasons why people are against cell phones in school.

These are some of the many reasons why cell phones can be be good for students or cause problems in school. There are many advantages and disadvantages to having cell phones in school. Some of the advantages include additional educational apps, access to additional information, and using social media to help engage students. Some of the disadvantages include cheating, cyberbullying, and distractions from class. This shows some of the pros and cons of cell phones in school.

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