back to article Kids may benefit from mobiles in class

A study from Nottingham University found that kids can actually benefit from using mobile phones in class. Teachers and parents have often complained about mobile use, and been tricked by kids using ringtones that adults can't hear, but a nine month study at five secondary schools found that phones can be a useful learning aid …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    eBay

    "One teacher involved in the study said: “I thought, well, four of these smartphones are going to end up on eBay tomorrow.” In fact, none of the phones were pinched."

    Perhaps lack of trust may have somthing to do with this?

  2. Mike Crawshaw

    Recording Teachers?

    I thought that the teachers etc were dead against this, to the point where classrooms are the one part of a school where CCTV doesn't appear? But the kids can record teach reading a poem? I wonder how many suitably-edited versions of those will end up on YouTube...

  3. Ash

    Expect headlines in the following order

    "Phones in School Help Kids Learn!"

    "Phone Pilot Successfull in Local School!"

    "Phones Dished Out to School Students!"

    "Students Mugged for School Smartphone!"

    "Children Hold ID Card To Prevent Muggings!"

    I forsee a dark future in this.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Hmmm, it's got to happen...

    Now then Josh, who wrote A Tale of Two Cities ?

    Can I phone a friend miss ?

    No, Josh

    What if I send this vid of you picking up that pencil to U-CHOOB ?

    Ok A+ Josh, now give me that phone !

    Hello, Police? My teacher's gone mental and is trying to steal me phone innit!

  5. Pete Silver badge

    classroom? kids? benefit?

    It's always been my belief (supported by years of observation as a young 'un) that the education system exists for the benefit of the teachers and everyone else employed in the system. The reason mobiles are verboten in schools is because teachers dislike being interrupted: "Hello I'M IN CLASS RIGHT NOW" and especially because they dislike being filmed - given the likelihood of the video being doctored and appearing on youtube.

    However, there is a possible upside. One of my ex-teachers is now an elected public figure. I'm sure that if the right video clips had been made widely available, the good people of <name deleted> could've been better informed about the mistake they were about to make.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    xms txt mrkg

    what next - txting their exam answers in? Who will be marking them & will they get extra marks for using the odd vowel?

    Paris cos she's the benchmark for modern education

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    xms txt mrkg

    what next - txting their exam answers in? Who will be marking them & will they get extra marks for using the odd vowel?

    Paris cos she's the benchmark for modern education

  8. Joe K
    Dead Vulture

    For chrissake

    This is about the most stupid damn thing i've ever read on The Register.

    And that saying something!

  9. Dr Stephen Jones
    Stop

    NuLab quango

    About BERA:

    "Who are our members? A broad church of researchers

    When BERA was first formed in 1974, psychologists predominated in education, then the sociologists surfaced, to be followed by the action researchers. Today BERA encompasses psychologists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers among the discipline-oriented members; a strong contingent of educationists with special interests in curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, or management; and those taking either a theoretical, or evaluative or action-research perspective on education.

    It is widely agreed that the over-arching research concern of these educationists is the critically informing of educational judgements and of decisions aimed at improving educational action. This concern makes for a duality of policy/practice-focused research, with a concern to advance practical wisdom in educational matters, and of discipline-focused research, with a concern to advance theoretical knowledge in educational settings, in terms of psychological or sociological phenomena and/or philosophical, economic or historical issues.

    The potential audiences for both aspects of research are practitioners, policy-makers and academics. Methodologically, many policy/practice-focused researchers are engaged in studies of singularities (ie studies enclosed in narrow boundaries of space and time), while many discipline-focused researchers are searching for general statements. BERA aims to embrace all of these researchers and audiences, and provides opportunities at its conferences and in its publications for all to contribute."

    http://bera.caret.cam.ac.uk/blog/2008/09/mobile-phones-help-secondary-pupils-to-connect-with-their-lessons/

    So no teachers, and nobody who has ever had a real job.

    And what was that about singularities?

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    As a student...

    I'm all for getting a free smartphone. Don't think I would take it into school though, wouldn't want it to get nicked.

  11. Mahou Saru

    Gimmick for bored students/boring lessons

    Just like using a DS for teaching English lessons. If a lesson is boring or badly taught then a gimmick will show positive results. Technology applied right is beneficial, but in this case just sounds like a band aid for deeper issues.

  12. Martin Owens
    IT Angle

    Truft

    Meh, I think one of the previous commentators got to one of the main problems. Teachers and Adults don't trust children, they way their treated is really surreal compared to how adults treat other adults or how children treat each other.

  13. Sooty

    thinking back

    when i was in school you didn't use anything of your own. Your bags & coats were locked in a cloakroom and you were provided pens, pencils, books, etc. by the teacher. I think that system should still be used, no excuses about not having a pen, and if your phone is ringing it's not in the room.

  14. This post has been deleted by its author

  15. Thomas

    Nothing new

    I actually did an article about this a few years back for All About Symbian, detailing how various phones could be beneficial to university students.

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