Imagine the students at North being able to use their phones? This may sound old-lady-ish but the first time I heard of the idea, I was totally against it. Think about how bad the hallways would be if every student had their head buried into their phones. While teachers were giving lectures, students would be on Facebook. Everyone knows the whole hide your phone under your desk or trying to text in your pocket trick. But what if students could actually use their phones to enhance their learning in their class and then use it however you please in your free time?

At Francis Howell High, administrators are working to bring more electronic device use into classrooms. The students there are able to use their phones during passing periods, lunch and with the approval of their teachers. According to Howell Principal, Mr. Greiner, having students use their phones doesn’t cost him anything, but its something that means everything to the students. So why not let the students have an extra educational tool that the school isn’t able to provide for everyone?

Having a cell phone brings a lot more advantages to the classroom. Students could use the Internet to research chemical symbols for Chemistry class. If they were able to use the mobile web during class, it would decrease the amount of homework that students would have. It would make them work harder on work in class. Knowing that in the classroom they have a job to do and that right when its over they could pull their phone out would make students concentrate a lot more to finish their work. North needs to just push to the next level. As of right now there are 4 teachers who have the permission to let students use their phones.

Everywhere around us, technology is drastically increasing the impact it has on the flow of information in society. If students could tap into this system while at school, the possibilities for a more focused education could be limitless. It is naive to think that students aren’t using their phones and that students shouldn’t be using their phones.  And even though the administration puts out notice that students can’t use their cell phones, people won’t stop doing something that they see no problem with.

Instead of looking at cell phones as a huge downfall, look at them in a positive way. The school could make a study-aid app for the iPhone and iTouch. Teachers could make a podcast of their lectures for absent students to listen to so that they don’t miss material. Make the library a mobile-friendly, online database that students could access anywhere and gather crucial information from without being in the library. The school must to look at this as an opportunity to benefit students and teachers, not as a material item that will only distract.

Chelsey Damalas