Action Research Project: Tool Not Toy

The use of cell phones in the classroom has been an increasingly popular topic, especially with our technologically savvy society we live in.  I began my student teaching experience with the expectation of “No Electronics” in the classroom; however, as I began my teaching experience I began to question my rule.  I became quick to learn that technology, if used properly can be a really powerful tool.  For instance often times in projects students could find the answer using their phone versus waiting for a computer to power up.  While I began to realize that cell phone use can be a good thing in the school setting, I also discovered that it can be a horrendous distraction as well.  An example of this is students using their phones to go on Facebook, text their friends, and even sharing inappropriate pictures with one another.  As a new and beginning educator this was a problem that I shared with the principal of Shippensburg High School.  As a result Mr. Levy (principal) and I decided that I should research the use of cell phones in a school setting and their appropriate use across schools in Pennsylvania.

              To conduct this research I engaged with students to determine what their opinions are in regards to this matter.  This is a vital part of this research because after all the students are the ones who would be affected.  The other steps of this research project was to conduct online research of several different websites related to cell phone policy and the final component was to share a survey with all of the Pennsylvania agriculture educators to determine their protocol related to cell phones.  At the conclusion of my research I compiled the data and implemented the most preferred cell phone procedures in the fourth marking period of the spring semester.  While I am not teaching the entire marking period, my cooperating teacher said she would be happy to carry on the implementation in the Veterinary Science class, since I have finished my student teaching experience. 

After conducting all of the research I learned that the majority of teachers do not permit students to utilize their cell phones anyway that they wish.  They do have consequences such as confiscating one's phone if it is deemed to be used inappropriately.  Many teachers shared that they do permit student's to use their cell phone to look things up related to classroom instruction and that they are okay with students using their phone as long as they have completed their classroom assignments.  One teacher emailed me personally and shared that she says that phones should be a "tool not toy" in the classroom and that she shares that policy with her students and says that she is not going to give them more classroom time to finish assignments and that typically other group members are able to police each other and make sure that everyone is using their phone responsibly.  I really appreciated her email to me and her email pretty much summed up all of my research and I introduced that same policy to my fourth marking period Veterinary Science class on the first day of class.  These students understood and respected the policy and knew the consequences.  There was a few times I would direct them to look something up on their phone, but other then that they kept their phones away. 

The main take-away from my research is that phones should be used as a tool in the classroom, ie: to enhance the learning environment!