Good question. At the previous era, classroom exist to promote specific information flow and teacher as media. But today, the information source is not teacher only. The teacher's role have been changing. Student can find the information better using their cell phone/ smartphone. But the next question is what the action will students do with their knowledge. It means that the learning concepts has changed either.

Hi! Good question.

I think it can be good with some background. The classroom was born as an ICT (will explain that later) in old Sumer around 2500 B. C. The intended function was to break the limitations of the apprentice system that was not capable of scaling up the training of new scribes as much as needed. A professional scribe could not have as many apprentices as needed hanging over his shoulder and still be productive, and also the learning deteriorated in this way.

So someone thought: Why don’t we take just one professional scribe and free him from production demands and then take many that want to learn and then we lock them in together in a room with no irrelevant information or demands, and let them out when they all know the art of writing cuneiform on clay tablets - alternatively when we can sort the successful from the less successful.

The ”tablet room” was a place where a teacher could shut the world around out, and have all to concentrate on one thing at a time, with minimal disturbances. That was the function of the classroom walls. The classroom regulates information flows and enables just one designed information work flow, the one of education /training.

Today the classroom walls leak information to students cell phones, tablets and laptops. It would be futile to try to shut this out for adult students. Their ICTs are already part of their personalities.

This means that the situation must be the more motivating and use students personal information flows, and engage their ICT appliances in the learning. A big change - or perhaps only just a more clear and obvious situation than before. Motivation to learn has always been a critical factor for learning, and now it is the more obvious.

The classroom is still useful for multi-channel information streams and interactions with all senses at once. However, we will learn to use the classroom for the activities where and when it really is useful or necessary, not as a default for learning communication if we have no better ideas.

Good question. At the previous era, classroom exist to promote specific information flow and teacher as media. But today, the information source is not teacher only. The teacher's role have been changing. Student can find the information better using their cell phone/ smartphone. But the next question is what the action will students do with their knowledge. It means that the learning concepts has changed either.

It depends upon your instructional strategy, BYOD is one which allows, and its up to the teacher/mentor how is he/she going to tackle it. In FTF it is purely on teachers and the learning environment but online/ virtual classrooms can not happen without it. I usually ask them to search meanings, details of similar concepts; attempt quizzes; demonstrate; interaction/discussion forums; google classroom activities and so many...

This question definetely is worth discussing. The replies are also well justified.

Vinayak Hegde I think that you are right to mention the word 'challenging'. I assume you imply it is benefitial but not easy to implement.

I am tempted to agree with all Anders Norberg , Dwi Sulisworo and Mool Raj that perhaps teachers and schools should get some instructions on how to use the cell phone in classroom. This might include points as:

1) Applications that help teaching, learning etc

2) Security issues and how to deal with them

3) Ways to inform pupils, parents about potential benefits and risks of mobile phone (prudent use depends on support from home, right? as everything)

There are good reasons for students to have a cell-phone even at school, but also good reasons not to have them.

Pro cell-phone: especially at young age it is in the interest of parents that their child can call them up if school is out early. How often are teachers sick and some lessons do not happen. Especially in an urban environment with young school-children parents might want to know about that in order to pick them up. This, however, could also be done if schools were not skipping classes that easily (its also depending on state's policy and poor financing of education), or if students were allowed access to a public phone or a phone at the school-office.

Against cell-phone: we all know how social-networks drive people's attention away and how especially young people use it for the purpose of mobbing. Ever since cell-phones were banned at French schools mobing rate went down and children are better at concentrating at school.

My opinion: cell-phones should be banned at class but at the same time there should be phones available either public or at the school's office to enable children to contact their parents. I know that some schools integrate modern technology into their curriculum, but they might just as well use tablets that are being provided by school for that purpose.