Over the past three years, the use of mobile phones by students at the Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura (CIV) has been subject to strict rules. A measure that, guarantees this educational establishment, is now “applauded by parents, well accepted by students, contrary to expectations, and has brought enormous advantages to the students' daily lives”.
In 2015, the board of directors of the CIV established rules for the use of mobile phones in a school context to “respond to inappropriate use and the inherent dependency factor observed during breaks”.
“This reflection took into account that almost all students from the 5th year/Year 5 they brought, at the time, a mobile phone to the school», according to the Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura. And, despite the school's guidelines, «many did not keep their cell phones in lockers or turn them off during the school term». Furthermore, «many had free internet on their mobile phones, enabling them to consult unreliable and/or recommended sources and portals».
Instead of banning the use of mobile devices, the school board sought to educate students on the responsible use of this resource and on the use of mobile phones for educational purposes».
“The CIV sees mobile phones as important resources, which should not be banned, but whose use must be effectively regulated. Thus, whenever it is considered opportune, mobile phones can be incorporated into the lesson plans and used responsibly for the development of pedagogical projects», considers the direction of this educational establishment.
The college even gives some examples of how this is being done.
«It's 09:45 in the morning. We are in a Visual Education class with a 9th grade class. Students are challenged to look for a good image to illustrate an apple. The teacher places the box, identified with the class label, in the center of the worktable, and the students remove their cell phone. The teacher reminds students that the use of this audiovisual resource must be accompanied by two premises: the device must be placed in silence and the student must refrain from responding to any notification or SMS», he exemplifies.
Once the exercise has been completed, the cell phone is turned off again and returns to its box, where it is kept silent and stored until the end of the day.
Also in the 11th grade Physics and Chemistry classes, «in the absence of a computer, the student can use his/her mobile phone». This is because, «when working with reagents, we use the mobile phone a lot to find out what the danger symbols are and how they should be handled safely. In the Laboratory, it becomes more practical to use the cell phone than the computer”, according to the professor of the discipline.
«The use of technology and school performance can go hand in hand, and for this it is necessary to work on ethics in the use of this same technology, always showing the student when to be on e off. This was a measure applauded by parents, well accepted by students, contrary to what was expected, and which brought enormous advantages to the students' day-to-day activities», concluded the CIV.
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