What do students think?

It's always a good idea to know what stakeholders want, which is why Top Hat, creator of a classroom engagement platform, performed a student pulse survey. In this survey, college students were asked a multitude of questions about technology in the classroom, including cell phones. The results from the cell phone portion of that survey are shown in this graphic. While students did admit to using their cell phones for non-academic purposes in class, the results are still very one-sided, with the majority of students feeling that mobile devices enhance their classroom experience.

The results of this survey really got me thinking. Rarely do you hear of teachers asking students what they really think about rules, expectations, or policies. So that's exactly what I did. I asked four of my students what they think about cell phones in the classroom. I did not give the students the questions ahead of time; I wanted their answers to be raw and authentic. The only thing I told them is that I expected them to be really honest, even if their answers went against our school or classroom policy. While I assumed they would all say, "YES! We need our cell phones in class!", I was surprised (and happy!) to find they did not all feel that way. Watch the video below to see how some of my students feel about cell phones in classrooms. And if you are a teacher, I encourage you to ask your students what they really think about cell phones in classrooms...