Smartphone usage in our daily lives has become our lifestyle and everyone is involved and implicated in the outcome of smartphone usage. This has caught everyone in a small global web. Smartphones from one of the numerous technological tools existing with their daily use increasing with time.
In the 21st century, the use of smartphones has multiplied especially in the educational milieu. There exist many effects of putting into use this technological tool in a milieu where teaching, learning and evaluation are taking place. These effects could be positive and negative depending on the context.
The use of smartphones in our classrooms as an educational technology tool can have some inhibiting effects on the teaching and learning process leading to poor academic performance.
Smartphone’s negative influence is caused by both the teacher and the learner on one hand and solely by the learner on the other. Statistics confirm unconditionally that students spend an enormous amount of time in class with their phones messaging rather than getting along with the lesson. Even when this smartphone forms part of the didactic material for that lesson, on a personal level in my classroom, it is observed that the correct usage of the tool was not met since about 30% of the learners were distracted. Some of the reasons for the shortcomings in the use of this hardware for teaching and learning purposes in Cameroon include;
Nonexistence of the standards /curriculum which elaborates and accompanies digital citizenship
Inadequate management skills in large class size
Lack of rules set at the beginning of the academic year
Non-collaboration of the educational stakeholders
Lack of professional training in the correct usage of smartphones
Nowadays, in this 21st century, most parents and teachers recognize the powerful influence of smartphones on children's behavioural patterns, yet too many seem incapable of dealing with it and, especially, of putting it to proper use. Recent survey results prove that about 76% of teachers who attempted the survey find using smartphones a nuisance and hence distracting. On the other hand, about 46% of the parents who took part in the survey encouraged the incorporation of smartphones as one of the Educational apps during Lesson plan preparation.
Nevertheless, some teachers lack knowledge in using these educational technological tools, and hence won’t encourage using smartphones. Otherwise, teachers have leveraged the proper use of smartphones in order to increase student engagement, to have quick access to a class website for better communication with all the educational stakeholders, to email assignments or scan a QR code just to name a few uses.
On April 24th 2022, in a Zoom debate organized by Oasis Online Academy, it was an exciting moment and opportunity to hear from a group of panelists made up of some CAFTAL members, civil society Educationist, secondary school teachers and Fulbright Scholars, who engaged in an educative talk on whether the use of cell phones in school is a nuisance or a powerful teaching tool for better engagement of learners in our Educational system. In other words, should the State allow the use of cell phones in the school milieu by students? All the panelists brought out interesting and intelligent points to buttress their standpoint, though with the existence of some disadvantages. It is quite glaring that, even with the numerous disadvantages presented with the use of smartphones in the school milieu, we shall in the nearest future accept the use of this digital tool in the teaching, learning and evaluation process given that the 4th Industrial Revolution is making waves in every aspect of life and the Educational domain is not left out on this.
With the advent of the need to digitalize the Cameroonian classroom since the start of the 2022/2023 academic year, it has been the cry of many teachers for the government of the nation to multiply the number of Continuous Professional Development training for these teachers, be it Primary schools and/or secondary and High school teachers since they are at the epicentre of the digitalization process. At this point, the need for Professional Development becomes an indispensable tool towards the realization and achievement of the digitalization of the teaching, learning and even evaluating process in the classroom. And this is where CAFTAL’s role to assist the government in this becomes very important with the numerous pieces of training of teachers that the Association has carried out in some of the towns such as Buea and Bamenda on Educational technological tools and their uses
In conclusion, I would say the use of smartphones in a synchronous mode in the teaching, learning and evaluation process could be a better option if all the above-mentioned conditions are non-existence. This could lead to an increase in students’ engagement in the activities individually and collaboratively. Therefore, teachers need support from the stakeholders to be able to access the necessary resources and apps that can make smartphone usage educational.
- By Tabot Delphine | Fulbright TEA Alumn
Reference
Google.com/amp/s/www.slicktext.com
James D. Lester, Writing Research paper, 6th edition
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