In 2024 several Canadian provinces began introducing cell phone bans in the classroom. Once this trend started it seemed that everyone was jumping on board, and governments rushed to put together policies to separate students from their devices during the school day. In my home province of Alberta, schools were instructed to have a policy in place to start the 2024-2025 school year. Our policy involved a progressive discipline plan, where students were given 4 strikes, the success of which depended on teachers diligently recording infractions so students could be moved through the stages of the plan. The first time students were caught with their phone they were asked to put it in their locker, the second time it was supposed to go to the office, and the teacher was told to contact their parents to educate them on the policy, the third time student phones were confiscated and must be picked up by a parent or guardian, and the fourth time resulted in a suspension. This policy has had its critics, but it has gone quite well. I have never allowed students to use cell phones for non-educational purposes in my classroom, but this blanket policy has made my job easier. I have found that my students are more compliant when the policy is being enforced consistently across the building, and I find it simpler when I don’t have to judge whether a student is using their device for legitimate reasons (for example, as a calculator) or for distracting reasons (like messaging their friends). I feel that my students are more engaged, and although I had to remove some activities that used cell phones from my classroom, the tradeoff has been worth it.
One of the ways I decided to gauge support was to make a post on my personal Facebook account. The comments I received generally backed up my belief that this policy has been successful and well liked by the majority of teachers and parents.
Overall the ban has gone well, but we did have a few kinks to iron out. The first issue we anticipated, and that was putting in allowances for students that needed their device for legitimate reasons such as a glucose monitor. The second issue we found was that the policy wasn’t clear on the use of bluetooth headphones, tablets and smart watches, so we had to inform students that these were also prohibited. Within a few weeks a proposal was brought in by our students’ union on the use of work devices (such as ipads, or laptops) in class, and it was determined that students could have a meeting with the principal, and they would be allowed their own computers after agreeing to a digital code of conduct. The policy also had to evolve. One thing brought in by the admin team at our school was an option for students to check their devices at the office in the morning instead of being suspended. The majority of students that made it to the fourth strike took this option, so we ended up with very few suspensions. The other change we made was dropping the first step of the policy a couple of months into the school year. At that point we decided that students should all be aware of the policy, and did not need the gentle reminder anymore. I am lucky to have administrators that have done a good job of enforcing the policy, and not allowing for exceptions except for very specific circumstances. Without strong enforcement from school boards and school leadership this policy will fail.
Although most people like the cell phone policy, I did come across a few individuals with concerns. For example, one parent that I work with expressed that she would like for her child to be able to use some of the features of a phone to support their complex learning profile. Although exceptions can be made to the policy, this parent did not like that their child might feel singled out. The shop teacher at our school also mentioned a project he used to do that required students to take pictures of tools on their phone and then research their use that just doesn’t work anymore. At this point exceptions are made only for students with medical needs, but we are not allowed to use phones for any learning activities.
When I first started teaching the use of technology in the classroom had been celebrated as a way to help students be more engaged, and also to prepare them for the way technology would be infused into the workforce. We are now turning against technology in the classroom. We have gone from pushing ‘bring your own device’ policies to bans on bringing any devices. Many believe that our use of smartphones is more distracting than helpful in education, and there is some evidence to back that up (https://macleans.ca/society/schools-vs-screens/). Cyberbullying and student mental health issues are also being blamed on cell phones. I do think technology has a place in our classroom, but I firmly believe that smartphones are too distracting to fill this role. Our school has computer carts that I can book when I want students to engage with the incredible resources the internet has given us. I think this limited use of technology in my classroom is striking the right balance. Will we see students with better outcomes from this ban? I guess we are all going to find out.
Great pose Danine. I loved how you polled Facebook for results- and I was very interested to see the results. I’d be curious if the parents who are really liking this policy, have had their kiddos cutback on use of their phones at home as well.
Thanks for sharing!
I wonder that as well! I think a lot of parents like the idea of a less connected world, but it is as hard to separate kids from their devices as it is to separate ourselves from them. We are all a bit addicted I think.
Your post highlights benefits and challenges to the ban. It is true that this ban has helped manage cell phones, especially in schools or classrooms where it felt like a constant free for all or battle. I do have my concerns about completely removing cell phones from the classroom. Technology has become such an important part of learning, so the lack of flexibility for learning and accessibility is a concern for me. I would prefer a balance of strong, well-supported policies that allow for learning opportunities as applicable. I think this would answer the concerns around management and distractions, but allow for healthy use, positive modelling and most of all, possibilities for accessibility.