{"id":10612,"date":"2024-02-04T12:30:53","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T19:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?p=10612"},"modified":"2024-02-04T12:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T19:30:53","slug":"school-replaces-smart-phones-with-dumb-phones-and-students-agree-its-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?p=10612","title":{"rendered":"School replaces smart phones with dumb phones – and students agree it’s better"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Buxton Prep and Boarding School<\/a> in Massachusetts has adopted a novel experiment: completely banning smart phones on campus (staff and students) and replacing them with very simple Light Phones<\/a>. Light Phones are a model of \u201cdumb\u201d phone that can make normal calls, but everything else has very limited functionality. They use simple black and white screens, can only send texts very slowly, and can’t load any modern applications. This allows parents to still contact their children, but in ways that don’t cause distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The interesting part: almost everyone agrees (staff and students) that the school is much better. There’s fewer interruptions during class and more meaningful interactions across the board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school cannot comment on academic performance changes because they use a narrative evaluation system<\/a>, but Peter Beck, the head of the school, says the move has been transformative to school social life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPeople are engaging in the lounges. They are lingering after class to chat,\u201d said Beck, who estimates that he\u2019s now having more conversations than ever at the school. \u201cAll these face-to-face interactions, the frequency has gone through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Ian Trombulak who tried a similar thing in another school says it’s not easy. It starts with what could almost be described as the 5 stages of grief. When his students learned that cellphones wouldn\u2019t be allowed on a field trip, the news was ‘apocalyptic’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were so upset. They didn\u2019t know how to handle themselves. I was really nervous,\u201d said Trombulak, reliving the drama. But part way through the trip, the kids largely forgot about their phones. \u201cAt the end of the first day, sitting around the campfire, they said, \u2018We didn\u2019t think about our phones all day,\u2019\u201d \u00a0\u201cThat was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As for Buxton school students, a similar experience was recounted by high school senior when they found out they would be losing their smart phones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen it was announced I practically had a breakdown,\u201d said then senior Max Weeks. And while he\u2019s still not a fan of what he says was a \u201cunilateral\u201d decision to switch to the Light Phone, he said, overall, the experience \u201chasn\u2019t been as bad as I expected\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It’s not just anecdotal either – there’s data behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to those that hype technology in the classroom, Arnold Glass, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University who has\u00a0researched the impact of cellphones on student performance<\/a> say \u201c[students] lose anywhere between a half and whole letter grade if they are allowed to consult their phones in class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicholas Carr (Pulitzer Prize winning technology writer) says that peer reviewed studies show the brain interprets printed and digital text differently. People generally read digital text 20-30% slower<\/a> and reading hyper-linked text seems to increase the brain\u2019s \u201ccognitive load,\u201d lowering the ability to process, store, and retain information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Links<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n