Schools include smartphones on the list of prohibitions in the corridors of the school campus, as it is an explicit student violation that hinders the rules of school discipline.
But the growing need to be used in the classroom, thanks to its ability to help in the learning process, makes it a continuous challenge.
Experts believe that the exclusion of it completely deprives them of the opportunity to benefit from it, pointing out that there should be a balance that allows the benefit of its educational capabilities and prevents its misuse.
School directors, and teachers and teachers told «Emirates Today» that the school reality is witnessing a growth in the use of smartphones in the classroom, especially from high school students, which has produced multiple problems that violate school regulations, and negatively affects the educational environment, discipline and educational attainment.
The students of students believe that the phones are a necessity in the lives of their children for education and communication, but they agreed with opinions that support strict control over their use in schools.
In detail, the educational expert, Dr. Ata Abdel Rahim, said: “The first appearance of smartphones in schools was not accompanied by a lot of rejection, as teachers and administrators looked at it as a new educational tool, which could contribute to supporting the curricula, and some schools began to adopt these devices as part of Digital learning strategies, where they are used to search online, interactive education applications, and communicate with teachers and colleagues. However, many concerns have emerged regarding their uncontrolled use in the classroom.
He added that «smartphones invade all aspects of our daily lives, and it is a major challenge for schools and teachers, as students’ excesses negatively affect the discipline, which is the basis of the educational process.
He stated that «the smartphone can contribute to the development of education, if it is properly used within the educational environment, but when students are left to use it without restrictions, it becomes a tool for distraction more than it is a learning tool.
And he expected schools to witness more cooperation with technology companies to develop solutions that limit the possible damage to the use of smartphones in the near future, and smartphones can become part of the curriculum in an organized manner, ensuring that students benefit from them without affecting their discipline and focus.
Terboon said that allowing students to use their phones to perform interactive duties and activities in the classroom, can greatly increase the participation, and the students remain involved in the learning process, and mobile phones can also be the means in which students collect information and communicate with teachers and cooperate with their peers, and they added The use of educational applications provides a framework for teachers to effectively integrate technology and facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject of the lesson, and they explained that by integrating phones in the learning process, students can reach a wealth of resources and participate in specialized educational experiences.
They emphasized that smartphones in schools are still a violation of the rules of school discipline, as schools included them on the list of prohibitions, and students are warned of their use inside the study halls or in times of school activity.
They stressed the need to balance the benefit from smartphones, without leaving room for students to use them in what is confused about them.
The principal of the school, Fatima Ali, stressed that «smartphones are an explicit violation in schools, and despite the efforts made to limit their use, many students still exceed the rules, which negatively reflects the educational environment, and leads to their distraction, humility of their academic achievement, and thus, and thus Their scientific level. ”
The teachers said: Ibrahim Al -Qabbani, Osama Jaber and Abdullah Hamdan: “We face great difficulties in monitoring exams due to the use of some students smartphones that have become a way to cheat.”
They explained: «Schools depend on smart systems to reduce the use of phones, as they are collected in dedicated boxes at the beginning of the school day and returning them to students upon its end, as well as awareness programs to enhance the responsibility of technology responsible, and electronic monitoring programs are used in the classes, allowing teachers to supervise devices and guarantee Use it for educational purposes only. ”
The students of students stressed the necessity of strict control over the use of smartphones inside schools, despite their importance in emergency situations.
Hala Badran, a mother of three students, explained that “phones negatively affect the focus of students, which requires the organization of their use during the classes.” While Ahmed Saeed, a father who asked two, refuses to allow them to be completely rejected, indicating their role in declining discipline and weak commitment to the rules, What requires stricter procedures to preserve the educational environment.
For its part, the expert in educational psychology, Dr. Iman Mohamed, warned of the impact of excessive use of smartphones in the classroom, noting that it “reduces students’ focus and weakens their cognitive skills.”
She explained that the continuous exposure to digital dispersion negatively affects the ability of the brain to process information, which leads to short -term memory weakness, and hinders the absorption of study concepts.
She stressed the need to impose strict controls on the use of phones in schools, while enhancing students’ awareness of the importance of managing their time to maintain their academic and psychological balance.
cons
Mobile phones can be used as educational tools, but to ensure that students use them in the school -related tasks, as the mobile phone can easily turn from a “education tool in the semester” to “disrupting the semester”, and the most prominent negatives of allowing mobile phones in the school :
– When students use their mobile phones to verify social media, and send text messages to their friends in the classroom, this leads to distracting their attention and the attention of their peers.
– Disorders can occur in the semester, especially if the teacher demands his students to stop their devices.
Mobile phones can increase bullying problems in school.
Modern studies
Recent studies conducted in the United States of America showed that “schools that banned the use of smartphones in the classes witnessed a remarkable improvement in the levels of focus and academic achievement among students.”
On the other hand, schools that allow the use of phones an increase in academic dropouts as a result of busy phones.