I am not sure how the smart and the not-so-smart cellphones are to be used in the classroom. Are they to be used in place of tablets or laptop computers or in addition to? How disadvantaged shall be the child
who does not have any of these electronic devices?
Can a teacher require all cellphones be turned off during class? If, on the other hand, they are all permitted to be switched on, can they be used to research answers ranging from simple mathematical sums to chemistry equations?
We need to recall that every major shift in information flow from “point to multipoint”, which probably started with the transistor radio, has been hailed as a titanic shift in the business of learning.
Every new thrust in the information stream was proclaimed by its standard-bearer(s) as the leap-frog to new and better communication. We know differently.
The world is swamped with information. Indeed, I am contending that the critical element which would allow for the sifting of information in order to aid digestion shall be further obliterated by the “swipe or click”.
In fact, the new logic that seems to have determined that these latest gadgets are “the best” may probably further consign an essential human need – critical thinking – to the dustbin of historical memories.
– Michael Rudder
