Students lead the way, conference of educators hears: Cell phones in the classroom may be distracting, but banning them is not the answer — changing teaching methods is — a conference on digital learning in schools has heard.“The press got it wrong. It’s not about the phone, it’s about the electronic device,” said Laura Williams, chief information officer with Learning Technology Support Services for the Peel District School Board.
Ms Williams was taking part in a conference of educators held Friday on social media use in the classroom.
Educators from across the province met to discuss issues such as cell phone bans, distraction and online bullying at a conference in Etobicoke, with York Region educators at the forefront. The conference also used the recent yorkregion.com series on digital learning as resource material.
An Ontario survey released earlier this year showed most high school students don’t want cell phones allowed in schools and the Toronto District School Board caused a stir recently when trustees voted to lift a four-year ban on cell phones. However, many of the participants in Friday’s conference said the survey did not paint an accurate picture of what students want.
They may not want to phone or text people, but they do want to use their electronic devices, and the issue gets muddy when a smart phone is also a computer, Ms Williams said.
“Students get it, but I’m not sure the press gets it. It’s a very fine line.”
Dr. Jim Greenlaw, dean of education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, agreed digital devices may be distracting. At UOIT, where savvy students are supposed to understand the use of technology in education, he still sees situations where the teacher is droning on at the front of the room and one third of students are playing video games, because they’ve figured out what the teacher is saying already. The challenge, he said, is keeping them engaged.
Part of the answer to the distraction problem lies in the age students are introduced to digital learning, said Royan Lee, teacher at Beverley Acres Public School in Richmond Hill.
Mr. Lee, who is at the forefront of the digital learning movement, believes there’s a strong urgency to teach kids to use the devices for education at an earlier age.
“Some of the problems arise because we’re too late coming into the game.”
It’s difficult to expect students who’ve been using their smartphones for a “realm of independence” to suddenly be told teachers are going to join them and they may have to “unlearn” bad digital habits, he said.
Dr. Greenlaw agreed. “Yes, the ship sailed a while ago and yes, Grade 12 students may not know how to deal with it because we didn’t start them in Grade 4. We need to get moving.”
Hazel Mason, superintendent of education with the Peel public board, added, “educators are always catching up. We’re always at the cow’s tail.”
It’s time, she said, to re-evaluate how budgets are spent and how to teach differently so students aren’t distracted by technology.
“We’re going to have to change how we define homework and the role of the teacher. We can’t do the same thing we’ve been doing for 100 years.”
Geoff Thompson, a teacher at Uxbridge District High School, said he has had to change his teaching style. He describes a recent class where a good student was not taking notes as the teacher wrote on the chalkboard. When asked why not, the student responded “when you’re done, I’d like to take a picture [of the chalkboard] and post it to the [online] forum” and Mr. Thompson realized it may no longer be necessary to insist students take notes — although for some, it helps them learn.
Royan Lee says his classroom full of devices in Richmond Hill means he has to stop trying to force students to memorize facts — it’s all available at their fingertips. “I realize it’s totally unnecessary and pointless and I’m forced to think about teaching higher order, critical-thinking skills.”
“Everything useful about computers I learned from my students. We fail to listen to students at our peril,” Dr. Greenlaw said.
The difficulty, he said, is harnessing students’ social networking skills within the constraints of most Ontario classrooms.
The Ontario College of Teachers recently warned their members that the dynamics between teachers and students are forever changed when the two become friends in an online environment and advises teachers to question whether the interaction enhances learning or satisfies a personal need, if the photographs or comments are reasonable and professional.
“If online discussion is so dangerous, why do many of us still think it is important?” he said, suggesting it’s because it’s necessary to become responsible workers and citizens in the 21st century.
Another challenge, said Bernie Smith, principal at St. Augustine Catholic Secondary School in Unionville, is motivating teachers. “Not all teachers are onboard” and educators must grapple with student equity when not all students have access to the technology.
Students from Uxbridge High and Beverley Acres in Richmond Hill explained how they use social media and why they think it’s important it be incorporated into the classroom.
“When we leave school we’re going to be collaborating and so learning how to do it now is important,” said Jenna Bruno, in Grade 12. Universities now use live Twitter feeds to allow students to ask questions of professors, breaking down the shyness barrier and allowing discussions to continue after class.
Skype conversations with students around the world are “mindblowing”, said Sabrina Adams, Grade 12 student at Uxbridge, who says accessing information on web means “kids who don’t pay attention pay attention ... and people who never talk, talk.”
Monissa Rajasri, in Grade 7 at Beverly Acres, believes students learn better when they research information online. “When we get it on our own, we keep the information in our heads, but when a teacher tells us we use the information when we need it and then forget.”
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