The Influence Of Using Cell Phone

During Learning Process on Students Engagement

Abstract

Cell phones are fast becoming an integral part of students’ everyday lives. They are
regarded as a tools for personal needed and education. The using cell phone is also
influencing students engagement. There are many kinds of influence of it during learning
process, especially in classroom activities. Many aspects which influences the students
engagement in positive side but this essay will discuss about the disadvantages. By
knowing the lack of using cell phone during learning process, hopefully, teachers can limit
the use of cell phone for students in order to make class activity going well.

A. Introduction

Nowadays cell phone is one of human needs, especially college students which

is used to communicate each other and cannot be separated. In addition, the phone

generally also has the function of sending and receiving short messages or catching

broadcasts. Internet services and other services also makes cell phone more camphor

and multi functional. In English classroom, students usually used their phone to find

several supporting material about what they learn at that time. It’s really help them to

add an information in another sources. Sometimes, they used to entertain their self by

listen to music or just play games on their phone when they are bored. Many language

learners regard the use of cell phone when class begins as a kind of helping stuff to

support their learning activities. These learners define fluency of learning activities at

class will be more efficient to get a little knowledge out from what lecturer explain and

discuss.

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 On the other hand, writer finds some problems that are faced by students in

learning activities they used their phone while learning process still ongoing. The first

problem is that students concentrate will be decrease. It happens because they would

prefer to check their phone just to ensure whether any messages or not. Moreover,

there is no regulation in class that prohibit the use of cell phone itself. Second problem

is disturbing their self development. Features at that cell phone’s provide will disturb

and switch their focus to accept the material, colleges who was bored will play games

while lecturer still explain the subject is also the disadvantages of using cell phone

itself. Dangerously, the use of cell phone at learning activities will increase the

potential of cheating while exam.

The using of cell phone will be more useful if colleges itself can limit their

activities in using phone while learning to process. It means that colleges need to know

on what time they have to use it, if it not really urgent, they should hold their self not

to use it. Because when they cannot prohibit their self not to use it, it will decrease

their achievement in that course and influence their ability to understanding the subject

fully. This essay will discuss about how the cell phone can influence students’ learning

process in class which focus on the disadvantages of using it while learning process

are still ongoing.

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B. Cell Phone

A cellular phone is a telecommunication device that uses radio waves over a

networked area (cells) and is served through a cell site or base station at a fixed

location, enabling calls to transmit wirelessly over a wide range, to a fixed landline or

via the Internet. In this networked system, the cellular phone is identified as a mobile

system consisting of the equipment and SIM card that actually assigns the mobile

telephone number. A cellular phone is also known as a cellphone or mobile phone.

(techopedia,2010). However, Meriam webster dictionary mention that the definition

of cell phone for english language learners is a small telephone that people can take

with them and use outside their homes.

Halla’s top tips for using mobile devices effectively in the classroom.

 Ensuring it stays academic

Many teachers have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to phones out

during class, since they assume—most of the time correctly—that their students

are using them to text friends or update their various social media sites. But there’s

a simple way to ensure that students use devices for educational purposes: change

the classroom dynamic from lecturing at the front of the room to having no

traditional front of the classroom at all. During class, Halla roams around the

room helping students with their work, all the while overseeing everything to make

sure that they’re staying on task.

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 Use smartphones to stay organized and assess learning

A great app for keeping students on top of their work is Remind, where

students voluntarily sign up to receive a text reminder when they have an

upcoming assignment due. Not only does it help students better organize their

assignments, but it’s also engaging parents. Halla says many parents sign up for the

app to keep track of their children’s homework.

 Let fun foster productivity

As a final tip, Halla suggests being open to letting students have some fun

with their devices. He was surprised to discover that his students are quieter and

more focused on their assignments when they are allowed to listen to their music

during individual classwork—provided they use headphones and the music is not

too loud to distract their classmates.

 Apps for the social sciences

Halla recommends a number of apps that are perfect for teaching social

science courses. There’s World Wiki, an app that provides demographic

information for almost 250 countries around the world; iAmerica, an app with

information about each U.S. President and the history of the White House; U.S.

Constitution, so students can have easy access to one of the most important

American documents; and many others that are designed to provide students with

further classroom support.

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A few reasons why cell phones in school is a good thing (safesearchkids.com):

 Smart phones can help students get more organized in school.

 Bringing a phone to school lets children communicate with their parents if they need

to stay after or have forgotten something at home.

 Personal phones can be used in the event of an emergency or accident.

However, there is an even longer list of reasons why cell phones in school is a bad

thing. A few of those reasons include:

 Cell phones can be used to cheat in class.

 Cell phones can be a distraction in school.

 Cell phones can be used for bullying, including taking inappropriate or unwanted

pictures and video.

 It can be very challenging for a teacher or school staff to closely monitor each

student and ensure that school cell phone policies are followed.

 It is unhealthy for a child or teenager to depend on their cell phone for

entertainment, or excessive communication with others when they should be

focused on school work.

 Safe practices while searching the internet are just as important on a phone than

when using a computer.

C. Students Engagement

In education, student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity,

interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being

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 taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in

their education (S. Abbott,2014).

While the concept of student engagement seems straightforward, it can take

fairly complex forms in practice. The following examples illustrate a few ways in

which student engagement may be discussed in schools:

 Intellectual engagement: To increase student engagement in a course or subject,

teachers may create lessons, assignments, or projects that appeal to student interests or

that stimulate their curiosity.

 Emotional engagement: Educators may use a wide variety of strategies to promote

positive emotions in students that will facilitate the learning process, minimize

negative behaviors, or keep students from dropping out.

 Social engagement: Teachers may use a variety of strategies to stimulate engagement

through social interactions

 Cultural engagement: Schools may take active steps to make students from diverse

cultural backgrounds—particularly recently arrived immigrant or refugee students and

their families—feel welcomed, accepted, safe, and valued. For example,

administrators, teachers, and school staff may provide special orientation sessions.

Cell phones have a large number of uses that are immediate to teens and pre-

teens. In fact, many of these uses are built into the phone’s software. Some of these

include phone and address book, calendar, planner, timer, alarm clock, calculator, and

memo pad. In addition, cell phones available today have the ability to take pictures,

record movies, record voice, engage in chat, and send e-mails (Kolb, 2007/2008). In

addition, Branzburg (2007) describes these multimedia features and the ease at which

they can be utilized. So why not use these powerful features of cell phones to benefit

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the learner? Moreover, these powerful devices are owned and are the responsibility of

the students and their parents, thus potentially relieving some of the burden local

education associations carry regarding technology (Hirsch, 2005).

The different ways for integrating cell phones into the curriculum can be as

varied as the phones themselves. For example, when studying ecosystems students

could explore and experience them with their cell phones in hand. While visiting an

ecosystem, the students could document it with the built-in camera and produce a

voice or written memo about key features they observed. Once the task has been

completed, the students can e-mail their teacher pictures and text for evaluation.

Exploratory activities such as this are perfect venues for bringing the cell phone into

the learning process (Clyde, 2004). Another example might involve the class reading

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-tale Heart” in literature class. As an assignment, groups

of students could conduct a cell phone chat session discussing the main points to the

story, what themes seem apparent, and what it means to them. Once finished, the text

can be e-mailed to the teacher for review. Other ways of integrating cell phones do

not have to be as elaborate or complicated.

D. Discussion

Students engagement by using cell phone during learning process

Before learning process, student who always bring their cell phone in class

should know what is the disadvantages of bring it. In addition, cell phone not only

gives them benefits during learning process, but also the lack.

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 (facultyfocus.com) Allowing students to use their cell phones in the classroom is a

bad idea because of the following reasons:

• Cell phones cause distraction. Students can easily be distracted when their

phones ring or vibrate, and the learning process will be totally disrupted when the

students start to send and read messages or make and receive calls. Moreover,

with the advent of smart phones, it is now easy for students to access the internet

and play or shop online.

• Cell phones can be used in cheating. Text messaging is the new note passing.

Students can exchange text messages with test answers on them without the

teacher’s knowing.

• Cell phones can be used in bullying. Students can take a video or a picture of

their teachers and/or classmates that can be dehumanizing.

• Cell phones can be detrimental to school safety. Cell phones can cause chaos

during bomb and other threats because of the parents’ rushing to the school.

• Cell phones can be health hazards. Constant exposure to the radiation emitted

by mobile phones may be bad for the students.

In addition, when allowed in higher education, if specific and well-designed

learning activities are not prepared, cell phone also pose the disadvantages. They

could be a big distraction for students since they could easily be constantly

checking personal emails, social networks, or navigating non-class related

websites. Thus, they would not be paying attention to class content or

discussions. In this sense, students become too dependent on these devices to an

extent where they no longer use their thinking abilities and to answer simple

questions, they grab the cell phones. Frequently texting and answering

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 unimportant calls may also affect other students from concentrating during class

time. The many capabilities of smartphones may also not be a great teaching tool

since it interferes with student learning behavior.

E. Conclusion

Cell phone is one of communication device that use by society in modern era

like these days. As a students, their engagement during learning process can be

supported by using cell phone. It is because they has many Apps which help

students not only to communicate, but also solve their difficulties along the

learning process such as tasks, homework and discussion. Cell phone is relatively

important things to be belonging as a students. As we know, it is also serves the

disadvantages like cheating and not focusing on learning activities.

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 REFERENCES

Advantages and Disadvantages of Smartphones in Higher Education by Wilfredo Rodríguez.

(2015, September 28). Retrieved May 16, 2017, from
http://commons.hostos.cuny.edu/edtech/2015/09/28/advantages-and-
disadvantages-of-smartphones-in-higher-education-by-wilfredo-rodriguez/

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Mobile Phones in Classrooms . (2012, March 5).
Retrieved May 12, 2017, from
http://www.smartschools.ph/tools/teacherresources/12-03-
05/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Using_Mobile_Phones_in_Classroom
s.aspx

Cell phone. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2017, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/cell%20phone

Cell Phones in School. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2017, from

http://www.safesearchkids.com/cell-phones-in-school/#.WSp-jDekLIV

Graham, E. (n.d.). Using Smartphones in the Classroom. Retrieved May 22, 2017, from
http://www.nea.org/tools/56274.htm

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