Will Smartphones Make Smart Kids?

Could schools begin integrating Smart devices over computers? There is a large amount of controversy surrounding Smartphone use by kids in school. Many have argued that the technology is distracting and sometimes dangerous when used against other students. However, due to the widespread use of Smartphones, some schools have begun to embrace the technology for the educational benefits it offers.

In some schools, teachers and principals believe that schoolwork done using a Smartphone can increase student engagement. Classroom use includes looking up words or definitions and keeping track of homework assignments. Teachers are also making using of Apps to give kids their homework or deliver course notes. Since it is easy for kids to access content that is not school related, privacy and security issues need to be addressed. In this case, privacy controls can be installed for smart devices that are owned by the school. However, these issues are nothing new to students who can work around privacy filters when accessing the Internet through school computers.

Since kids are comfortable using their Smartphones, it may be useful to use this platform to connect with these students educationally. As the Smartphone generation gets older and students become teachers, the use of this technology could see exponential gains in the classroom. At this point, not all students have the option to use a Smartphone, so it will most likely not become a major form of student-teacher communication unless school begin to offer students the technology. This option is becoming more feasible as Smartphone technology becomes less expensive and more widely available for schools to implement.

Instead of trying to restrict Smartphone use, schools should learn more ways to embrace the technology. As we have seen over the past five years, Smartphone use has continued to grow. There are many useful ways that Smartphones can be used in order to enhance the educational experiences of students, and it has come to the point where we can begin to figure out the ways in which to achieve this.