Sun Post Aug. 10, 2017
Mobile phones in the classroom? C
ell phones ar e ubiquitous . Most people w ould admit tha t they’ d rather leave home without their w allets than without their phones. According to statistics provider Smart Insights, 80 per cent of internet users own a smartphone , while mor e than 50 percent of mobile phone users admit to reaching for their phones first thing when they wake up. Since more than 90 per cent of today’s teenagers own a phone, schools are forced to find ways to include mobile phones in the classroom without having them overshadow lessons or distract students. A 2013 Uni versity of Ne braska-Lincoln study of 777 students at six American uni versities f ound tha t the a verage respondent used a digital de vice f or nonclass purposes 10.93 times during a typical school da y. Students’ acti vities included te xting, social netw orking and emailing. Many respondents cited bor edom and staying connected to the outside
world as motivating factors. Until r ecently, man y schools implemented strict policies r egarding mobile phones in school. Some forbade students from carrying them on campus or mandated that students left them in lock ers. Many schools are now realizing the ways students can harness the technolo gy of mobile phones in cr eative and inno vative methods. Plus, as smartphone ca pabilities continue to evolve, educators are increasingly recognizing the potential of educational a pps and ho w they can be used in the classroom. Using mobile phones in the classroom for educa tional purposes also ma y cut down on how much the phones are used for nonschool purposes , such as te xting or checking social media. Accor ding to data published in the journal Computers & Education, 80 percent of students admit that mobile phones can hinder their ability to pa y a ttention in school w hen phones are not being used in conjunction
with their lessons. Schools v ary in their rules r egarding mobile phone usa ge in the classr oom. Some schools let teachers decide , w hile others have more liberal policies. The following are some ideas f or broaching the subject. •Research educational apps. A number of a pps and w ebsites ar e educa tional. Whether students ar e connecting via a phone, la ptop or ta blet, these a pplications can encour age class participa tion. Some apps can report students’ progress to teachers in real time. Remind101 is an app tha t can te xt r eminders f or assignments and tests to students. •Teachers can monitor diligentl y. The image of teachers standing in the fr ont of the classr oom lecturing is becoming more and mor e obsolete . It’ s easier to guide students to sta y on task w hile on mobile phones w hen the teacher r oams the classroom to k eep an ey e on phone activity. It’s more difficult for students to
engage in nega tive behaviors when their phones are out in the open. •Cut down on tech expenses. Not every school can afford to gi ve each student a laptop or have 20 to 30 tablets in the classroom. W hen students embr ace BY OT (Bring Your Own Technology), teachers can maximize resources. Mobile phones are not going anywhere soon, and schools are trying to find ways to make them mor e useful and less distracting in the classroom. •
Strategies to improve teen driver safety A
llowing your child to drive themselves to school this y ear? W ill your child be a passenger in a student carpool? Learning to dri ve and receiving a dri ver’s license mak es f or some exciting times for young drivers. Those first moments of freedom on the road open up man y new possibilities for teena gers accustomed to r elying on their parents to get them around town. Although being a new driver is exciting, it also carries with it very real risk. Car cr ashes ar e the leading cause of death for teens in the United Sta tes, taking the lives of six teens a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Harvard Health Pub lications sta tes that lack of experience behind the wheel is one factor behind high cr ash r ates among teens , b ut other factors also may be in pla y. The pr efrontal cortex, which contains the neural mechanisms of self-control, is one of the last parts of the brain to mature. As a result, teen-
agers are prone to taking risks , behaving impulsively and seeking sensa tion. These tr aits can be danger ous behind the wheel of a car. Preventing teenage driving accidents requires some measur e of dedica tion, awareness and education. •Improve dri ving skills . A dri ver’s license does not mean dri vers ha ve learned all there is to know about driving. In fact, newly licensed drivers still have a lot to learn. Experience onl y comes with time and pr actice, and e very day presents teen drivers with a new opportunity to expand their skills. •Watch the speed limit. Speeding makes it more difficult to control a vehicle. Obey the speed limit, and r ecognize speed limits are suggestions during ideal driving conditions. When driving in inclement w eather, r educe speed, even if tha t means dri ving belo w the speed limit. •Reduce distractions. When driving, reduce distr actions inside of the car . This includes ea ting or talking on the
phone while driving. It also means fiddling with the radio or checking social media. The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surv eillance -United Sta tes, 2015 states tha t 42 per cent of high school students w ho dri ve r eport te xting or emailing w hile dri ving. T exting w hile driving cr eates conditions similar to drinking or using drugs w hile behind the wheel. •Avoid peer passengers. Teens should avoid ha ving other teens or y ounger children as passengers in their first year as licensed dri vers. Other kids can be an ad ded sour ce of distr action inside of the vehicle and may goad drivers into behaviors they would otherwise avoid. Wait until you gain more experience behind the wheel before you start to hone your chauffeur skills. •Stick to daytime driving. Driving at night can mak e it m uch more difficult for drivers to see their surroundings and recognize potential hazards. Within the first few months of earning their licenses, teenagers should dri ve only during
For parents handing off the keys to a son or daughter, now may be the best time to lay down ground rules and expectations.
the daytime and log plenty of practice hours driving at night accompanied by an adult until they feel more confident.•
Did you know? T
eachers pr ovide man y things to their students . In ad dition to an educa tion, support and guidance , many teachers also feel compelled to enhance their classr ooms with supplies they’ ve purchased out-of-pocket. According to a poll of 1,500 teachers conducted b y the educational resource Edutopia, 93 per cent of teachers feel ob ligated or somewhat obligated to buy school supplies for their classrooms with their own money. The Education Market Association says that virtually all teachers wind up pa ying out of pocket for supplies. The amounts spent annually can be upwards of $1,000 per teacher. In addition, not all of the teachers funding supplies work in lowincome districts. A report published in early 2016 by the Center for Budget and P olicy Priorities f ound that many states now provide less financial support per student than they did before the recession took hold roughly nine years ago. Districts forced to work under tight budgets are increasingly outsourcing the costs of supplies to parents. When parents fail to provide supplies, teachers ar e bearing the brunt of the costs to a void seeing their students go without necessary resources. •
Most schools open Tuesday, Sept. 5. Are you ready?
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2017 Navigating today’s school tech choices T
echnology is essential in the dail y lives of students . W hether it’ s kids learning their ABC’ s or gr aduate students pur suing ad vanced degr ees, technology has tr ansformed the way lessons are taught and learned. Statistics support the notion that technology in the classroom is irr eplaceable. According to data from the tutoring r esource Pr acTutor, Houghton Mif flin Harcourt and various colleges, 98 percent of schools have one or more computers in the classr oom. In addition, 77 per cent of teachers use the internet for instruction, w hile 40 percent of teachers r eport students use computers during instructional time in the classroom. Many instructors no w assign home work tha t must be completed online. The Or ganization for
Economic Cooper ation and De velopment look ed at computer usa ge among 15-year-olds across 31 nations and regions. Many students in highperforming na tions r eported spending betw een one and tw o hours a da y on a computer outside of school. Because computers ar e so necessary in and out of the classr oom, families and students ma y want to revisit their options before buying new devices. DESKTOP COMPUTER Desktop computers used to be the go-to f or families and students, and there are still many reasons why desktops mak e sense. In ad dition to their r elatively ine xpensive stick er price, desktop computers allow students to customize their packa ges according to their needs and get a
powerful operating system in the process. New and advanced pr ocessing speeds also mean tha t man y desktop computers can be relied on f or educa tional purposes w hile also being fast enough to handle r ecreational gaming. One of the main disadvantages of desktop computers is their lack
ity. La ptops ar e designed to be tak en from place to place, so students can use them for note-taking in the classroom and then studying at home. Although laptop processors have just about caught up to desktop pr ocessors, they ma y be lacking the processing pop unless consumers ar e willing to pa y more for laptops with high performance. Another shortcoming of laptops is that they gener ally ha ve smaller screens than desktop computers, which can of porta bility. Desktops make working on fine deare not easil y moved, and tails more challenging. if r epairs ar e necessary , TABLETS it can be a hassle to ha ve them fixed. Tablets of fer the most in ter ms of porta bility. LAPTOP COMPUTERS They’re lightw eight and Over the last decade , small and of fer a w ealth laptop computers have be- of access in a compact come mor e popular than package. T oday’s ta blets desktop computers, largely offer much more than the because of their porta bil- first such devices to hit the
market. Some can run apps and equi valent pr ograms that were once exclusive to desktop and la ptop computers. Tablets also tend to be less e xpensive than desktops or laptops. Where ta blets ma y fall short is in the peripher als. It’s difficult to connect backup dri ves and other accessories to tablets. However, with advancements in cloud-based stor age, this may not be an issue. Also, note-taking on virtual k eyboards ma y be mor e challenging, and working on ta blets’ small screens can be tir esome over time. Convertible ta blet/laptops ar e now emerging to bridge these gaps. Shopping for a new computer can be complica ted, but basing pur chases on need rather than want can help guide the process. •
Dread the morning rush? M
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any families find the rush is on to make it to school and work on time each morning. • Wake up slightl y earlier. Getting up earlier than nor mal, e ven if it’s just 15 to 20 minutes before you’re accustomed to getting out of bed, can help r educe morning str ess. R esist the tempta tion to hit the snooz e button over and o ver again. A few extra minutes each morning can make you feel more relaxed and make for a smooth, stress-free start to the day. • Get some work done the night before. Prepare lunches and have them ready in the r efrigerator. In ad dition, la y y our clothes f or the f ollowing da y out each night. This saves time and takes a couple more things off your morning to-do list. • Ease back into a r outine. As a ne w school y ear da wns or a long v acation comes to an end, begin going to bed earlier and start w aking up ear lier as w ell. This can make the transition from carefree mornings to busy mornings go more smoothly. • Prep backpacks in the evening. Look through folders, sign pa perwork, check assignments, and do whatever is you need
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to do the night before to save your family from having to scramble in the morning. This ensur es those per mission slips get signed and items make it back into school bags. • Opt f or school lunch a fe w times . Look ahead on the school lunch men u and speak with childr en a bout w hich meals they enjo y. Let kids pur chase school lunch on those days to give yourself a day off from lunch detail. • Have quick breakfast foods available. Smoothies, cer eal bars , oa tmeal, and whole-grain cer eals ar e fast and n utritious ways to start the day. • Carpool w henever possib le. Busy families can save themselves extra work by pr oposing a neighborhood carpool. Sharing school dropoff detail frees time up for parents once or twice a week, and kids may enjoy traveling to school with their friends. Mornings can be trick y w hen famil y members are getting ready for school and work at the same time . By pr acticing a few daily rituals, it’s possible to curb the rush and start the day happier and more relaxed. •
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