Harmful tech? Why cellphone bans only fix part of the issue

The pushback against screens goes beyond cellphones. Educators want “seamless” edtech that “untethers” the teacher from the front of the classroom.

At least 44 states have introduced legislation restricting phones in classrooms. To the dismay of many students, their parents have put the most pressure on schools to eliminate unhealthy screen time.

From an industry perspective, cellphone restrictions will be a net good for K12 education in the years to come, says John Mecum, global sales coordinator and corporate trainer at Cellairis, which showcased its Cyber Pouch at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference.

“I think we’ll see more collaboration,” with parents at the center of the conversation, Mecum says. If parents aren’t involved, cellphone bans won’t achieve the results K12 leaders desire.

Cellphones present many issues, ranging from students’ excessive social media use to cyberbullying, but classroom distractions are the primary reason districts use the Cyber Pouch or other forms of phone storage, Mecum says. State policies vary from bell-to-bell bans to individual classroom restrictions, he adds.

Explaining the edtech pushback

Research is ongoing into the practicality of K12 cellphone policies. A large majority of principals at schools that restrict phones said climate improved, while “inappropriate” cellphone use and cyberbullying declined, according to an October report from the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit that researches public policy.

A broader conversation is exploring whether excessive hardware use interferes with student engagement. While cell phone restrictions target personal devices, school-issued technology is also under scrutiny for potentially hindering critical thinking, says Natalie Mactier, CEO of Vivi, a crisis response, campus communications and instruction company.

Beyond cell phones, which Mactier says “absolutely should be banned” because there is “no practical need” for them in a lesson, there is a growing focus on managing the “distraction element” of necessary devices like laptops.

The goal, she says, is to move away from technology that limits the teacher’s ability to provide tailored instruction and encourage classroom participation.

One emerging solution is a concept Mactier refers to as the “invisible backbone” of the classroom. The technology should operate largely out of sight to support instruction without obstructing teacher-student engagement.

For example, edtech that lets the teacher move freely around the classroom “untethered” allows them to spend one-on-one time with students. For district leaders, it’s about selecting tools that don’t complicate teaching but streamline the process.

“I think for teaching, saving time, [edtech] needs to be really easy to use and kind of seamless,” she says.

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