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For the past three years, Bellwood-Antis has been teasing its students with the hope of a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy that would essentially lift the bans on technology such as phones, computers and iPads.  However, this plan has yet to be approved and instituted for all students school wide.

Now is the time to integrate technology into our classrooms at Bellwood-Antis.  Students should be allowed to use their cell phones and other technological devices during the school day.  We’ve all received that text from a friend the night before a huge test that says, “Hey did you take your notes home? … Could you send me pictures of them?”  This is just one thing technology could be used for in the classroom.  If you could take your notes on a computer, phone or tablet, you would always have a way to access them.

In an article on the Chicago Tribune, written by Madison Rossi, entitled “I Can Use My Cell Phone,” she explains, “Other teachers use technology as an aid to classroom learning. I’ve seen students use smartphones to look up information, take notes, take pictures of PowerPoint slides or check online dictionaries in an English or foreign language class. Some of my teachers have even designed class activities that use cellphones, such as a game where students text their answers to review questions to a website.”

Most teachers worry that students having access to their cellphones during the school day would become a major distraction.  In the article, “Is Your Smart Phone Hurting Your GPA,” author Nara Schoenburg of the Chicago Tribune states,  “In a research study done by Lock Haven University, 69 percent of students reported they had texted in class, and students who texted or used Facebook more frequently in class had lower overall semester GPAs.” However, if you think about it logically, if students were allowed to text in the hallways, during lunch or during free periods and in between classes it could lower the level of distractions.

If students could check their phones during the day, they wouldn’t be distracted by what might be happening on them.