Cellphones in school:pros and cons

Cellphones have officially invaded the classroom. Schools originally had banned them but due to emergency situations such as Columbine, most bans have been lifted. The negatives of cellphone use in class are relatively obvious. They are distracting to students as they use them to text during class. In addition, texting can be used to cheat on tests, which is the most common complaint for cellphone use in class. They also open up the student body to harassment that can happen both through texts while the teacher is unaware as well as through video and photos which can be quickly distributed through the school population. In fact, due to this, many schools have banned the use of photography and video recordings with phones on school property. the negatives of cellphone use make it difficult to consider the positive uses of cellphones in the classroom. If used effectively, it can even increase student motivation as the students feel as if the are doing something "cool". The camera and video that most modern cellphones are equipped with can be used to create a sort of "video diary" which would be especially useful to document a field trip or to gather data for field research. Many modern cellphones also come equipped with Internet access. this gives students limitless access to answers that they may encounter in learning scenarios. Rather than wait to get home to get computer access, students have the answers easily accessible in their back pockets. Of course, this also holds the possibility for negative outcomes as this free internet access can also allow students to cheat but with the proper direction, students can learn how to use new found technology in honest, constructive ways.