Kids on their phones drives us nuts. Part of it is a feeling of inherent disrespect in the act of dividing attention between teacher and technology, but for many of them, that is life. Many of our students use their phones without noticing and as an addition to anything they are doing. Game developers and technology companies started targeting this behavior years ago by trying to create consumer content for the "second screen."
This is why education and instruction is and must change. The world is different and, quite frankly, many of our schools do not have the right administrators and procedures in place to accommodate a no tolerance cell phone/technology. That means we have to turn it into a tool for good, for education. I understand the impediments to making this a reality including but not limited to the following: poor internet, untrustworthy kids, overworking the teacher, etc. That said, I've found a few ways to make it a reality. Something as simple as recording lectures and making them accessible to the students through their phones helps bridge that technological gap and i'm seeing improvement in my students.
Embracing technology and change has made me much less frustrated as an added bonus. Give it a try!
Original Article
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