Should Children Have Their Cellphones in the Classroom?

For an interesting summary of the state of the science, check out a report from Paige MacPherson who recently wrote an article for the Toronto Star that makes the case for banning cellphones as an antidote to our children's sagging scores on international standardized tests. Having worked with thousands of educators over the past two years, one doesn't need a randomized control trial or big data to tell us that something is amiss in our schools.

Turns out that there is plenty of reason to believe that phones are distracting kids from their own learning and a nuisance to other students and teachers as well. The problem even extends into post-secondary institutions.

I can still remember when there was panic over kids using calculators in the classroom and the belief that children would never again be able to add or subtract on their own. Our schools have now successfully integrated computers (at least in schools well-enough funded by the state to have them), but should children's individual smartphones be part of the learning environment?

All those buzzing, beeping, pinging phones are taking attention away from learning at a time when kids need to be focused.

Read at Psychology Today