Mobile phones in schools

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/going-to-school/Pages/Mobile-phones-in-
schools.aspx

From Term 1, 2020 there will be a new mobile phone policy for all government schools. The
policy means phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely during the
school day.

The aim of this policy is to provide:

• a safe environment to learn without inappropriate mobile phone use (including

cyberbullying) or distractions
• greater opportunities for social interaction and physical activity during recess and
lunchtimes.

The use of technology is important, but the risks and benefits from its use need to be
managed. A summary of research articles is available below.

Emergencies
In emergencies, parents can contact their children through the school office.

Exceptions
A small number of exceptions will be made. These exceptions will only be available if a
mobile phone is essential for a student in:

• managing a health condition

• classroom learning.

Teachers can grant a classroom-based learning exception. Other exceptions are managed by
the school principal. Your child’s school can give you more information about exceptions.

Family support
Talking about mobile phone use as a family is a great way to support safe and responsible
technology use.

The eSafety Commissioner has many resources for families:

• 7 Tips for Managing Screen Time – tips and advice on how families can balance their
time on and offline
• Online Safety: A guide for parents and carers – guide to how to tackle the big online
issues
• Screen Smart Parent Tour –advice on social media, screen time, personal information,
cyber-bullying, stranger contact and inappropriate content.

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The Department of Education and Training’s also has a Bully Stoppers webpage.

Summary of information in various languages

Research
Mobile phone use in the classroom

How smart is it to allow students to use mobile phones at school? reports on a study of
mobile phone bans in England. The bans led to:

• Improvements in student achievement

• An increase in test scores for students aged 16 by an amount equal to adding five
extra days to the school year.

Lower-achieving students made the greatest improvements.

Mobile phones in the classroom: A helpful or harmful hindrance? outlines recent research.
Phones can be a distraction and their removal from the classroom can see an improvement in
student performance. Students who did not use smartphones in a lecture wrote 62 per cent
more information in their notes and recalled more information than peers who were using
their phones.

'Schools need to react quickly': Education expert urges smartphone ban discusses smartphone
use in schools. According to Finnish expert Dr Sahlberg, smartphone distraction is one of the
main reasons why Australia is sliding down Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA) rankings.

Cognition and smartphone use

Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile
Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning is a review of academic research on mobile
phones. The review looked for evidence of the effects of smartphone use on cognition. It
reported that habitual smartphone use may have a negative and lasting impact on users’
ability to :

• think,
• remember
• pay attention
• regulate emotion.

The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows
The research finds it doesn’t matter whether a smartphone is on or off or lying face up or face
down on a desk - having a smartphone within sight or within easy reach reduces a person’s
ability to focus and perform tasks, because part of their brain is actively working to not pick
up or use the phone.

Smartphones use by children and young people and wellbeing

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Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes and Suicide Rates Among
U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Tim shows that, on
average, teenagers are spending six hours per day:

• using the internet

• texting friends
• using social media.

The survey explores the links between the use of smartphones, particularly social media, and
increases in depression, anxiety and reduced happiness.

Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A battle for your time, a Harvard University blog discusses
our desire to connect and seek validation through technologies and how this can lead to
anxiety, poor sleep and unsuccessful social interactions. The blog explains how mobile phone
content can influence our ‘dopamine pathways and lead to a battle for more and more of the
users’ time.

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Last Update: 20 September 2021

1. This text most likely appears in:

a) A new teacher’s handbook
b) A brochure for parents
c) An academic journal
d) A government website

2. If you were a parent concerned about the impact playing smartphone games has on your
child’s attention span, which resource should you use for further information?
a) Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A battle for your time
b) Online Safety: A guide for parents and carers
c) Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between
Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning
d) 'Schools need to react quickly': Education expert urges smartphone ban

3. Overall, this text implies that

a) Mobile phone technology has useful educational benefits if used correctly.
b) Mobile phone technology poses risks to the safety and development of students and
should be tightly controlled.
c) Mobile phone technology should be banned for students.
d) More research needs to be completed to understand the link between mobile phone use
and learning outcomes.

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 4. A secondary school Visual Arts teacher wants to allow students to use the camera function
on their phones for a class project. Under the new mobile phone policy, this would not be
allowed. True or false?

5. The resources suggested by this text are:

a) More focused on the academic impacts of phone use than bullying.
b) Are overwhelmingly Australian-based research.
c) Are mostly helpful for concerned teachers
d) Are unhelpful

6. If a teacher needed clarification about whether students were permitted to take their
mobile phones on school camp, where should they seek guidance?
a) The Education Department website
b) The eSafety Commissioner website
c) Principal
d) All of the above

7. If you were a school counsellor who wanted to know more about the link between social
media use and mental health, which resource should you use?
a) The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows
b) Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes and Suicide Rates
Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen
Tim
c) Mobile phones in the classroom: A helpful or harmful hindrance?
d) Bully Stoppers webpage.

8. Who claims mobile phone use plays a significant role in Australian students falling in
international education benchmarks?
a) The eSafety Commissioner
b) The Department of Education and Training
c) Dr Sahlberg
d) Harvard University

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 ANSWERS
Q1. D

Q2. C

Q3. B

Q4. False

Q5. A

Q6. C

Q7. B

Q8. C

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