Content area
Full Text
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Cell phone use has become an integral part of modern society. The increase of their power and capabilities, in addition to their decrease in cost, will likely make them even more entrenched as a viable, and even necessary, communication tool in our daily lives. Yet, like most new technologies, cell phone use has unfavorable aspects as well. The most common unfavorable aspect is the distraction their use causes to both the user and to those around him or her. These distractions occur at all levels: distractions while watching a movie in a theatre, distractions while driving, and distractions while listening to a lecture in a classroom.
This paper discusses the issue of cell phone use causing distractions in the classroom. It will address the issue from various perspectives including those of the student cell phone user, the teacher cell phone user, and the students who refrain from using their cell phones in class, as well. While other studies have been conducted to address the issue of using cell phones in the classroom, this study takes the issue a step further to discuss the particular distractions, and it collects and shares experiences from faculty members at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in how they have dealt with this issue.
Keywords: Cell phone use in classroom, distraction of cell phone use in the classroom, dealing with the distraction of cell phone use
INTRODUCTION
The capabilities of cell phones have been evolving quickly. During the past few years, cell phones have gone from simple communication tool to include a calculator, a clock with alarm, games, a video function, calendar, an FM radio, a music player, a picture ID, streaming multimedia, a speaker phone, hard drive and a camera with flash. If cell phones mimic other technologies, these features will increase. Schools will be pressed to stay ahead of this fast-moving technology. A policy on cell phone use made only a few years ago may be outdated by today's technology. As new technology emerges, policies must grow and change as well. This presents ongoing challenge for school leaders. (Obringer, 2007, p. 45)
Cell phones are becoming increasingly vital and indispensable communication tools around the globe. In many ways, cell phones have simplified communications. For example, their...