War on mobile at school

War on mobile at school

France approves the veto of smartphones in schools and institutes. In Spain, the use of personal electronic devices in the classroom is not regulated

It is an essential and in few occasions we separate from him. The mobile seems like a human appendage and regulating its use in certain situations has become a necessity. France has put the batteries and seems to have started a war against smartphones in what places. Thus, President Emmanuel Macron has banned cell phones at meetings of the Council of Ministers.


 Neither emails nor whatsapp nor Twitter. Nothing that can deconcentrate during the act. After giving an example, the next step to take is that of 'detoxification' in schools. Students will have to learn to remove the 'mania' of being with the mobile while the teacher is explaining the lesson. Although the norm goes further and will also be present the prohibition in the time of recreation. So it would be better to leave the phone at home.

The defenders of the measure affirm that it will serve to combat the cyberbullying, the sexting and that it will favor the student's attention with respect to the teachers. "You can not progress in a world of technology if you can not read, write, tell, respect others and work as a team," French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said recently.

It will be from this September when the measure is implemented in France and the news has generated debate and many doubt that it can be carried out effectively.

Only those over 15 years old will be able to use their telephone at school, as long as they make a responsible and positive use of it.

Regarding these ages, the Executive of Macron has not presented specific measures that the centers should apply, since it believes that each center must act according to its own criteria, always within the law and opening the debate to what it is and if there is a appropriate point of use in educational centers.

According to the figures of French politicians, more than 90% of children between 12 and 17 years old have a mobile phone and go with him to school.

Is there positive use?

Many experts wonder if you can take advantage of the youth's dependence on the use of mobile for the benefit of their education. This current has been called M-learning . Although the use of mobiles in classrooms can have disadvantages (deterioration of cognitive functioning, consumerism or cyberbullying), many experts encourage its use as an educational tool due to its multiple benefits .

In fact, there are teachers who use messaging applications for their classes. One of them is TokApp, whose objective of communicating to schools and parents has expanded not only to other types of institutions such as associations and town halls.

"Many teachers also use it with their students to send homework and notify them directly, ask questions to see who answers before or create micro-stories in which each student sends a different phrase to add it to the general history," explains Edelmiro Justo, deputy director of the Galician company.

The company itself was not surprised with the didactic use of the application, since data such as telephone numbers and emails are completely protected, facilitating a completely secure communication.


"The GDPR has fully supported our values, protecting the privacy of the user and turning communication into something serious," says Justo. In addition, following alerts to their support, they created RompeBullying , a messaging app that fights against digital harassment, providing action tools to the affected students themselves.

The advocates of M-learning ensure that the use of mobile in class offers infinite possibilities for students. They can work or communicate among peers, thus improving participation and their communication skills.

Beyond the use of mobiles in class as a didactic tool, we can not forget that its basic function is to communicate. In the educational field mobile apps have greatly improved how we send and receive messages.

The Digital Education Action Plan report , published by the European Commission in 2018, points out that there are many studies related to the use of technologies in schools, but all of them are partial and lack of evidence and data collection to know the impact real.

A Unesco study on mobile learning published in 2012 warned of the danger of mobile phones in the classroom due to isolation, distraction or bullying . However, the potential of these devices to improve student participation in the classroom and teamwork was also discussed.

From what age to give a phone?

As reflected in the latest study by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on 'Equipment and use of information and communication technologies in homes in Spain (2016)' , the number of children who have a mobile phone at an early age continues to grow.

In 2016, one in four 10-year-old children had a mobile phone. Today, almost 80% of Spanish children over 12 years old have their own smartphone.

According to experts, you can not establish a specific age to give a phone to a child, since it depends on their needs and circumstances.

It is important that parents feel the bases of behavior that the child must comply with in the use of the mobile phone, both before buying it and afterwards, and educating it in a responsible use of it.

To achieve the educational objectives, it is important that parents and teachers maintain similar guidelines to promote learning and avoid confusion. If, as they defend in TokApp, the communication between school and family is effective and safe, why can a student need a telephone in class?

«Obviating the new trend of M-learning, in many cases the family reality forces the student to be connected. From this issue arises the question of communication between the center and families, which is key in the education of children.

Normally little attention is paid to them, but we must be aware that parents need to be informed and the school must know the student's family context, "they point out from TokApp.