Whether in classrooms or at home, the general consensus seems to be that smartphones are distracting to students and take away from their education. Many people believe that smartphones distract students from completing schoolwork at home. However, smartphones can be highly beneficial for students, especially when used in the right ways.
Most students, especially those in high school, have a smartphone. Whether it be mainly for safety or for entertainment, they still all have the basic functions of downloading apps or connecting to the internet. Some educational apps students can download include all of Google’s free programs (i.e. Docs, Drive, Slides, Sheets, etc.), as well as a variety of graphing calculators, math solvers, language learning programs, and dictionaries, just to name a few. Having these apps right in their pocket makes accessing their schoolwork much more portable and flexible.
When a student’s computer breaks or runs out of battery, they are often told to borrow a computer from the school. However, in schools where there are not enough extra computers or no extra computers at all, those students have to fend for themselves. They are left to look on with a peer and/or fall behind the rest of the class because they don’t have the advantages of technology.
For students in situations like these, the ability to use their smartphones to do classwork makes their lives easier. While the smaller screen might be a disadvantage, at least they can still complete assignments at the same time as their fellow classmates and access the cornucopia of knowledge, also known as the Internet.
Smartphones are easily transported. They fit into most pockets and bags and are usually lightweight. This characteristic of smartphones can be beneficial to students because it allows them to do schoolwork virtually anywhere they are.
For example, if a student were to have forgotten to do their homework and remembered while stuck at a family gathering with no access to a computer, they are able to whip out their smartphones and finish it instead of getting points taken off for a late assignment.
Another instance where the transportability of a smartphone is beneficial is in remote learning. In this new era of education where joining class virtually through Google Meet or Zoom is possible for those who can’t physically be at school, using a smartphone can make life much more efficient. With a smartphone, students are able to join meetings, calls, or group chats no matter where they are, whether that be on the bus to a sports meet or at home sick.
Many people still argue that smartphones only serve to harm students since they can take them off task. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2022, a reported 67% of teens in the U.S. say they use TikTok, a social media app primarily used on mobile devices. Additionally, 16% of teens said that they use TikTok constantly, no doubt at school as well. This exemplifies how students being irresponsible with their smartphones can distract them from their schoolwork and education. While these claims may be true, when students are responsible and trusted to be responsible with their devices, the benefits they reap can be more bountiful than ever imagined.
Smartphones can provide portability and convenience to many students. It can save the day when they don’t have access to a computer, allow them to attend classes while traveling, and provide them with important tools that can aid them to further their learning outside of the classroom.
