For Christian Leaders

Breaking News

  • Govt urged to stop travel of citizens to South Sudan
  • 60 missing persons re-surface
  • NGOs dare govt to prove claims on terror funding
  • Guinea opposition condemns 90 protest deaths ahead of polls
  • Floods leave ‘nine million Sudanese in need of aid’
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Background
    • Uganda Profile
    • The Staff
    • What Readers Say
    • Subscribe
  • Comboni
    • The Missionaries
    • Vocation
  • E-paper
  • Archives
  • Contact Us

Should mobile phones be accepted in schools

Jan 11, 2021 Leader Leading Education 0


The question whether learners should be accepted to use mobile phones more especially in Primary and Secondary schools remains a divisive issue. It has spawned a lot of debate and may continue to do so for some time since education stakeholders seem to have diverse views. Amidst the absence of a specific ministerial policy framework, most schools continue to ban the use of cell phones. There are strong opinions on each side of the debate with conceivable arguments.

Most critics believe that phones lead students into using them for non-educational use in school to a situation where they become a distraction and potential tool for cheating, cyber-bullying and addiction to social media
during lessons. On the other hand, supporters name advantages like security, access to educational information, communication and an opportunity to teach students to be responsible by guiding them
to use phones responsibly.

What is clear is that cell phones can easily turn from “classroom learning tool” into “classroom disruption”. When students use their cell phones to check social media and text their friends in class, it leads to their distraction as well as for their peers; but it’s important to note that cell phones can be a helpful learning tool in class.

Oddly, as schools continue to bar the use of phones for learners, many of them still go ahead to smuggle phones into schools. Majority of the learners use them for social networking on sites like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter even when in class and this can lead to a decline in academic performance. This denotes that the battle against phones is ironically lost by schools and will continue to generate a lot of hubbub.

As educators we are faced with the unadorned reality that we can no longer keep students from using their cell phones at school even if we wanted to, therefore we should instead focus on teaching responsible use of phones. The ICT Policy for Uganda 2014, clearly states that it intended to promote the growth and implementation of Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) modes of study and to pedagogically integrate ICTs in the teaching and learning process.

This denotes that since mobile gadgets are part of ICT, they should be embraced by schools. Therefore there is a need to have guidelines on how and when to use them. Perhaps if ODeL mode of teaching had been developed, the education disruption by COVID 19 wouldn’t have been what it is today. Read More at http://www.leadershipmagazine.org

By Michael Tumwesigye


  • tweet
Zimbabwe journalist says will not seek bail but ‘fight’ charges 2021 Elections - is the electoral process free and fair?

Leader

Related articles
  • Business Unusual: 365 Days down the road!
    Business Unusual: 365 Days down the...

    Apr 07, 2021 0

  • Baptism: The door to the Church and Heaven
    Baptism: The door to the Church and...

    Apr 07, 2021 0

  • The youth can be a positive force for a better society
    The youth can be a positive force for a...

    Apr 07, 2021 0

  • Ogon advocates for human rights through cartoons
    Ogon advocates for human rights through...

    Apr 07, 2021 0

More in this category
  • Why Environmental Education is important in Schools
    Why Environmental Education is...

    Apr 07, 2021 0

  • Would declaring a dead year have been better than staggered reopening of schools in Uganda?
    Would declaring a dead year have been...

    Mar 15, 2021 0

  • The predictable effects of Covid-19 involuntary long break on children
    The predictable effects of Covid-19...

    Feb 17, 2021 0

  • Education is Communal Interaction
    Education is Communal Interaction

    Dec 28, 2020 0


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Current Issue

Feature Story

  • Papal Visit to Iraq Comforting the wounded
    Papal Visit to Iraq Comforting the wounded

    Apr 07, 2021 0

    Pope John Paul II had wanted to make a pastoral visit to...

Ask the Doctor

  • Malaria in the shadow of Covid-19
    Malaria in the shadow of Covid-19

    Apr 07, 2021 0

    There is real fear that the Covid-19 pandemic is...

My Story

  • Working in a war zone has helped Fr. Moses grow in faith
    Working in a war zone has helped Fr. Moses grow in faith

    Apr 07, 2021 0

    Fr Moses was ordained by the ordinary Bishop of Kotido...

My Opinion

  • The youth can be a positive force for a better society
    The youth can be a positive force for a better society

    Apr 07, 2021 0

    Uganda’s political history shows that the direct...

Church Doctrine

  • Baptism: The door to the Church and Heaven
    Baptism: The door to the Church and Heaven

    Apr 07, 2021 0

    Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments. It is the...

Management

  • Business Unusual: 365 Days down the road!
    Business Unusual: 365 Days down the road!

    Apr 07, 2021 0

    It is not yet post Covid-19! I have emphasized this in a...

Social Media

Church

  • Church News
  • Catholic clinic in South Sudan closes temporarily as doctors test positive for Covid
    Catholic clinic in South Sudan closes temporarily as doctors test positive...

    Feb 25, 2021 0

    A Catholic health centre of the Diocese of Wau has temporarily shut down after all three doctors at the facility tested positive for Covid-19. The administrator of Sika Hadid Primary Health Centre, Sr. Bibiana Efimi,...
    Read More
  • Pope Francis accepts Cardinal Robert Sarah’s resignation from divine worship congregation
    Pope Francis accepts Cardinal Robert Sarah’s resignation from divine...

    Feb 25, 2021 0

    Pope Francis on Saturday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Robert Sarah as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Sarah, who turned 75 in June 2020, was the most senior...
    Read More
  • Pope Francis: Christian life ‘is a battle against the spirit of evil’
    Pope Francis: Christian life ‘is a battle against the spirit of...

    Feb 25, 2021 0

    Like Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, Christians must be prepared to battle evil, knowing that “with faith, prayer, and penance,” the victory is assured, Pope Francis said Sunday. In his weekly Angelus...
    Read More
Copyright 2017 Leadership Magazine | All rights reserved.
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • RSS Feed
    • Linked
    • Youtube
Login

Lost your password?

Reset Password

Log in