Most of the debates around mobile phones in schools seem to stop at the school gates. There are so many reasons why schools will not use them or allow pupils to have them on site, from cyber-bullying to distraction to safeguarding. However, during lockdown, we soon found that mobile phones were often students only recourse when it came to logging on and getting involved in learning.
Now that schools are back to face to face teaching, at least for the majority of pupils, it is time to move the debate on. Some schools will never allow mobile phones on site; others may be forced to when their current stock of iPads come to the end of their life in three or four years' time and there is no money in the budget to replace them. In other cases, some departments and individual teachers will let learners bring in their own device for particular projects without there being wholesale acceptance of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).
TeachingTimes asked four experts who are regular visitors to schools to tell us how mobile phones are being used in the curriculum. Al Kingsley is chair of a multi academy trust in Peterborough, chair of an alternative provision Academy and BESA EdTech Chair. Gavin Hawkins is current chair of NAACE, Director & Co-Founder at Squirrel Learning Limited that specialises in AI learning solutions for literacy. His colleague Lawrence Boulter was an Academy IT Learning Leader in Essex and a past chair NAACE. Until recently Rachel Dunsmore was a teacher of mathematics in a secondary school in York. She is creator of the Arc Maths App which she has been trialling in schools.
What advantages do mobile phones offer right now?
Rachel has been described as, 'The teacher who wants children to spend more time on their phones.' ARC Maths is underpinned by research into how memory works. It involves a daily set of 12 quick questions which adapt to the needs of the individual student. It is a personalised app that encourages regular practice to build maths skills and confidence. Finalist for Educational App at the BETT awards last year, Arc Maths is currently shortlisted for the Secondary Digital Learning Product award this year.
It has long been available on the iPads so why create a mobile phone version? Rachel feels that the schools that have bought into Arc Maths 'are typically the ones that are fairly tech savvy. I think what we're not reaching - and I think no one is reaching - are those schools with no devices or they've got devices that are sitting there, in a cupboard, and aren't maintained. Money has been spent on technology but I think you're conning yourself if you think that these schools are suddenly going to come up with devices and have the money to buy and maintain them.'