SAFELY SPOTLIGHT
The Place of Texting in Education
by December 6, 2011 • 2:12 am
Recently there has been a lot of noise about kids texting in school. As Max mentioned, almost two-thirds of teens text in class. And, studies have found that 75% of kids don’t think it’s wrong.
As you might imagine, many teachers are fed up with kids texting while they’re supposed to be learning. Studies have shown that they’re justified—texting in class is a major distraction and hurts students’ grades.
The Educational Benefits of Cellphones
While texting in class is clearly harmful, cellphones have educational benefits, too. A number of new tech companies have come up with innovative way to capture our teens’ interest in texting to help them focus on their schoolwork.
Phones Improve Communication Between Teachers and Students
It’s much easier to engage students if you talk their language. For today’s teens, that language is texting.
Remind101 (and competitors SnappSchool and classParrot) let teachers instantly send text reminders and homework updates to students. Teachers can also send messages to parents on how their children are doing in class and reminders to sign field trip forms.
Cellphone Let Kids Study on the Go
Cellphones can be a powerful study tool. Both iPhone and Android have tons of educational apps, including SAT prep guides and apps that teach kids about astronomy.
Your kid doesn’t need a smartphone to take advantage of educational apps. Services like StudyBoost let students answer quiz questions via text message so they can study any time.
What role have cellphones played in your child’s education?
Do your kids use educational apps? Has your child had issues texting at school?
Join the conversation on twitter with @safely.
Picture via spatulated on Flickr.
