When students and parents begin their shopping list for the new school year, one item at the top of their list is a cell phone. How times have changed. The idea of searching for paper and pencils is taking a back seat to modern technology. Cell phone companies have caught up and are releasing so many new cell phones each month that it is difficult for anyone to catch up. Cell phones have reached epidemic proportions throughout American society. You cannot go to an urban or rural highway without finding someone who is using a cell phone.
A growing phenomenon among parents and students is text messaging. The phone ringer has been silenced by the touch of the alphabetic keys. Messages between mobile phones can be transferred instantly. Students are using text messages to reply to each other and communicate with their parents. Abbreviations are often used when sending text messages. It represents a form of communication that has broad implications for society. Texting can consume time that a student would normally spend studying. At the same time, students can send a reminder to turn in an assignment. It has become a two-edged sword that allows parents to pick up a child from soccer practice or plan a trip to the movies.
Communicating quickly has become an even faster way to keep parents in touch with their students. Parents realize that when their child returns to school, putting down the cell phone to focus will require real discipline. Students are too easily interrupted by the buzzing of their cell phones. The speed at which a student communicates can cause a chain reaction of positive or negative results for a student who takes a test the next day. Peer pressure can occur even when a student gives in to the temptation to answer a cell phone call instead of studying.
Communication via cell phone is here to stay. School districts are forced to make strong statements about when cell phones can be used during the school day. Students try to find creative ways to ignore the rules. Parents are frustrated when they have to go to school to retrieve their child’s cell phone. Learning via cell phone has been a challenge for most schools. Cell phone use is not easily incorporated into classroom instruction like a real computer. Some professionals have found ways to download papers to cell phones and read them on the go, but this is not a priority for students.
Some students are using their cell phones to discuss assignments and presentations they are giving. Students can save some of the main points of their presentation to their cell phone. Students can send a reminder to a friend that a test will be taken tomorrow. Messages like it’s time to get ready. Some students post reminders on their cell phone and the phone makes a strange noise to remind them to start preparing for an important test. The calendar can also be used as a way to manage time.
Throughout the 21st century, technology will continue to influence the trip back to school. Schools that use laptops to educate students are already springing up across the country. Cell phones offer news, television, and the Internet, but most students do not have access to these services. Moving forward, reducing costs, and increasing services will make the versatility of the cell phone a total learning experience. It is clear that going back to school will never be the same.