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Smartphones and Their Uses in the Classroom

Gone are the days when students and teachers don’t see eye to eye with regard to the proper use of smartphones in the classroom. Certain trends in education now encourage the use of these devices for better learning among students and for enabling more effective teaching strategies by educators. The following list shows the positive changes in classrooms that were brought about by the use of smartphones.

Check facts quickly – There’s no need for teachers to put a discussion on hold while they verify certain facts. They can now do this in a few seconds using their smartphones.

Carry out tests easily – Students can now take quizzes and tests on their smartphones. This helps teachers to save time which would otherwise be needed to print and distribute test papers. It also allows teachers to assess their students’ knowledge immediately after a discussion has taken place.

Use of learning aids – Smartphone accessories and apps like a calculator, converter, dictionary and translator can aid students’ learning inside the classroom. In fact, there are some apps that were created to help students with particular learning disabilities. You can find more interesting app-related facts here.

Reading with ease – Students can store a dozen or more ebooks on a smartphone depending on the device’s memory card capacity. Having all the books they need on their phone is very convenient because they never again have to worry about remembering to bring them to school. They must make sure they don’t forget or lose their phone though!

Students and teachers may have different uses for and attitudes toward their smartphones outside the classroom. Beyond school, these devices can keep them informed about breaking news and community happenings through the different social media sites. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center last year, most smartphone owners use their devices to look up a health condition, to do online banking and to look for a place to live.

Since smartphones serve as a 'go to' source for all kinds of information, many people are addicted to them today. The infographic below from Buzinga shows how smartphone addiction manifests among people of different age groups.

Smartphone Addiction Facts

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