MINNEAPOLIS — As thousands of students across Minnesota go back to school next week, the one thing they likely won’t forget is their cellphone.
Banning cellphones in classrooms is a hot topic, but by next March, every school district in the state will need to have a cellphone policy in place.
“This is a big ask for school districts to try and come up with and understand to that this s probably going to be a moving document,” said University of Minnesota Associate Professor and Program Coordinator and Director of School Counseling and Training Marguerite Ohrtman.
Ohrtman thinks the biggest challenge districts will face is getting everyone on board with their policy.
“It’s a whole different thing for what we use our cellphones now. It’s not just that connection piece, it’s everything. Students do their assignments on there, their Google Drive, their Dropbox, all their assignments. I had students even 15 years ago typing papers on their phones because they didn’t have a computer at home,” Ohrtman said.
She said it will be important for districts to find a balance when it comes to cellphone use in classrooms.
“They know how to use the technology the way they want to use it, so it’s better, instead of discouraging them from using it, teach them how to use it wisely, teach them how to use it constructively, teach them how to use it in moderation,” she said.
Freshman students at the University of Minnesota said cellphones weren’t a distraction for them in high school.
“Whenever I use my cellphone at school or in classes, I use it to search up stuff… it’s just another resource that helps me learn,” one student said.
“Sometimes when I have questions that can’t get answered right away or I’m just curious about a thing that I don’t want to hold up the class for, I just Google it on my phone and then after that I put it away,” another student said.
“It is easy to go on social media because it’s just at our hands, but like that’s our responsibility as students to use it at a good time and a good place,” said another student.
Some of the students said phones in class can be a positive or a negative thing depending on how each individual student uses them. Most of them said their fellow high school classmates used their phones appropriately during class.
Ohrtman said she understands both sides of this issue.
“I see both sides, that people are like it’s distracting, it’s harmful, it’s hurting, but I also know it’s not going away. Kids are going to find a way to text, find a way to scroll, download the apps, there’s tons of ways they can do that,” she said.
She said cellphone use in moderation will be key for districts as they create their plans for the future.
A spokesperson for St. Paul Public Schools said they are working on district-wide policy to follow new legislation. Currently, each school has their own policy.
At Anoka-Hennepin, elementary and middle school students must have their phones powered off and put away. Meanwhile, high school students must keep their phones off or in airplane mode unless a teacher allows them to use it.
At Minneapolis Public Schools, 6-12 students can have a cellphone and use it in class with the teacher’s permission.