Let’s imagine that before going to work we are asked to leave our mobile phone in a box and we are told that we can get it back when we leave. Let’s imagine that our boss tells us that if he or she catches us looking for a flight or checking WhatsApp during working hours, he or she will confiscate it for a week. We would probably be up in arms. Well, this is what happens to all teenagers in Spain , by law, when they enter their schools, and also in other countries, such as France and Sweden, as well as in Mexico, some provinces in Argentina and recently in Peru.

In this case, however, we would agree that mobile phone use should be limited or prohibited . The reasons? It avoids distractions, lack of attention and anxiety due to having the mobile phone nearby and not being able to use it , and it limits the possibilities of harassment and taking pictures in the center during the school term.

No cell phones in the classroom, but what about technology?

But are we missing something by banning the use of mobile phones in the classroom? If we broaden our view and refer to the use of technology in the classroom (through tablets, laptops or desktop computers, projectors, smart boards, virtual reality glasses, among others), many teachers will be in favor of the enormous possibilities that technology offers us today for educational purposes.

From being able to use a spreadsheet to optimize operations to seeing how the pyramids were built or how the human body works inside: the possibilities of expanding and exemplifying the content of any subject are enormous and enrich learning. And this facilitates recall : that is, bringing to working memory knowledge that we already had previously, which is one of the strategies that has the greatest impact on learning.

Platforms for dynamic sessions

Educational technology also offers us many teaching-learning platforms to make sessions more dynamic: Nearpod, Kahoot, Wooclap, Mentimeter, Socrative, among many others. In this way, not only is gamification introduced (i.e. competitive or game-like elements to teach), but, much more importantly, it allows the participation of all students at the same time. This encourages group cohesion, interest and motivation and limits students from disconnecting from learning.

But it also definitely contributes to another of the most effective strategies teachers have to help their students learn: formative assessment, that is, the continuous process of collecting information about students’ learning to improve and guide how they learn during the course. It is not focused on providing grades, but on providing quality feedback to students so they can improve.

With technology, teachers can provide real-time feedback to all students and can also collect all the data on participation and how well they have performed in a much more agile and efficient way than with tasks in a non-digital format.

Necessary skills and competencies

But technology also makes it easier for teachers to develop in their students the skills that are in such high demand in the job market: cooperative work, learning through practice, problem solving, searching for relevant information, among many others.

All of these strategies can be applied if students have a computer or tablet at their disposal in the classroom. However, having these devices in their hands does not limit distractions or other problems associated with the use of technology, such as failure to execute handwriting without spelling mistakes.

Educational use of mobile phones

But the reality for many educational centers is that there is no possibility for each student to have access to a device. This is where the educational use of mobile phones becomes a great asset to not lose the advantages associated with educational technology.

For this reason, the ban on mobile phones should be conditional. In the following cases, mobile phones as an educational tool could be allowed:

• If we use it for educational purposes and we admit that its potential is the same (almost) as that of a laptop.
• If it allows us to do activities outside the classroom and take advantage of portability .
• It makes it possible to compensate for the lack of computer equipment and democratize participation in the classroom.
• If teachers are prepared and trained to make this teaching use of technology.
• If applied in those tasks that can benefit from the use of technology (cooperative work, participation in learning tasks, searching for information, etc.).
• Whether teachers make adaptations in their use according to the educational level of the students or allow them to address the diversity of learning in the classroom.
• If it is used to enable students with special educational needs to benefit from digital (for example, by having access to tests that they can review at their own pace).

Who should decide?

Teachers and decision-makers in schools have to do, with mobile phones in particular and with technological devices in general, what is expected of them: educate. Educate in the correct and responsible use of mobile phones and technology and educate in avoiding the risks and maximizing the benefits of their use. And to do this, they first have to learn. It is important to base their decisions on how to teach in the classroom on scientific research and on what they already know works.

For example, I teach Statistics, a subject with many abstract concepts, demonstrations, formulas, but also with enormous possibilities for practical applications. On the first day of class I talk to my students to reach agreements on issues of coexistence and, among others, we discuss the use of mobile phones and computers in class.

I show them the results of research that demonstrate how important it is to take notes by hand to benefit from the eye-hand-brain axis and how in subjects like mine it is better to take notes by hand , and I reach agreements with those who prefer to take notes on a tablet.

We use mobile phones and computers very often to benefit from technology. Only for these purposes and because we have agreed to do so. And every so often in class, I give them what I call “WhatsApp minutes”, free time in which they can look at their phones. In this way, through education and consensus between student and teacher, we manage to transform mobile phones into allies for mass learning.

Author Bio: Maria Gil Izquierdo is Professor of Statistics and researcher in Economics of Education at the Autonomous University of Madrid