Cell Phones In School: Acceptable or Not?

Ashley Robinson I.S. 195 arobinson12@schools.nyc.gov

Introduction

Let’s be honest, most of you have cell phones. Let’s be even more honest, most of you bring them to school. Since 9/11, many parents insist that their students carry a cell phone at all times, even if it is against the school’s policy.

School districts around the US have various rules and guidelines regarding the possession and use of phones in the school building. Some schools have rules that ban their presence altogether, while others have restricted their usage to outside the classroom. In the NYC Public Schools, if phones are seen and heard, they are confiscated by teachers, deans, and administrators until a parent comes in to retrieve it.

Kids will always try to find ways that they can “beat the system”. The problem becomes that not only do students use phones during instructional time, causing disruption and distraction, but some even go as far as to harass other students during school time via text messaging.

Should there be a cell phone ban on school grounds, or is there an effective and feasible solution to carrying and using a cell phone at school?

Task

You are to follow the Public Policy Analyst format to document:

(a) Facts regarding the use of cell phones in NYC Public Schools

(b) Rules and regulations regarding the use of cell phones in NYC Public Schools

(d) Distractions of using cell phones in the school building

(e) Distractions of using cell phones in the classrooms

(f) A policy that would provide a learning environment with a high academic standard

Your presentation will include the following:

(a) A 5-7 minute oral report

(b) A PowerPoint presentation consisting of 7-10 slides (include graphs, charts, and visuals)

Process

1. You will work with ONE partner to complete this project. Both group members are responsible for an equal amount of work.

2. Complete PPA worksheets 1-6:

A. Define the Problem: Worksheet 1

B. Gather Evidence of the Problem: Worksheet 2

C. Identify Causes of the Problem: Worksheet 3

D. Evaluate a Policy: Worksheet 4

E. Develop Your Own Solutions: Worksheet 5

F. Select the Best Solution: Worksheet 6

3. Following your research, create a two-page typed report discussing your results. Use the PPA format to organize your document.

4. Using the findings from your report, create a 7-10-slide PowerPoint presentation. This should include interesting visuals (graphs, pictures, cartoons) along with the major findings of your research. This presentation should be long enough for you and your partner to conduct a 5-7 minute oral report in front of the class.

Resources

http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/cell_phones.html

Cell phone and pager issues

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35063840

Some schools rethink ban on cell phones

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090114_741903.htm

Get cell phones into schools

http://teachingtechnology.suite101.com/article.cfm/fair_cell_phone_use_in_schools

Fair cell phone use in schools

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/12/national/main1616330.shtml

School cell phone ban causes uproar

http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues270.shtml

Schools, state review cell phone bans

http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/citeone_s.php?style=MLA

Works cited generator in MLA format

http://www.koat.com/news/23851185/detail.html

Cell phone captures school beating

Evaluation

Since you will be graded on three different activities (oral presentation, typed report, and PowerPoint) there are three different rubrics that I will use for your groups evaluation.

Oral Presentation: Cell Phones in Schools

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Time-Limit	Presentation is five-seven minutes long.	Presentation is four minutes long.	Presentation is three minutes long.	Presentation is less than three minutes OR more than seven minutes.
Enthusiasm	Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic.	Facial expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic.	Facial expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat fake.	Very little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being presented.
Posture and Eye Contact	Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.	Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.
Volume	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members throughout the presentation.	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 90% of the time.	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 80% of the time.	Volume often too soft to be heard by all audience members.

PowerPoint Presentation: Cell Phones in Schools

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content - Accuracy	All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.	Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.	The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.	Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.
Sequencing of Information	Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be on the next card.	Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One card or item of information seems out of place.	Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional card or item of information seems out of place.	There is no clear plan for the organization of information.
Requirement of Slides	PowerPoint includes seven-ten slides.	PowerPoint includes six slides.	PowerPoint includes five slides.	PowerPoint includes less than five slides OR more than ten slides.
Spelling and Grammar	Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 misspellings, but no grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 grammatical errors but no misspellings.	Presentation has more than 2 grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Originality	Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way.	Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an interesting way.	Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness on 1-2 cards.	Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at original thought.

Typed Report: Cell Phones in Schools

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Quality of Information	Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.	Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Paragraph Construction	All paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence.	Most paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence.	Paragraphs included related information but were typically not constructed well.	Paragraphing structure was not clear and sentences were not typically related within the paragraphs.
Mechanics	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.	Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors	A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Sources	All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in MLA format.	All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in MLA format.	All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in MLA format.	Some sources are not accurately documented.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have successfully completed your first WebQuest using the Public Policy Analyst format (PPA)! This project has hopefully given you insight into the steps used to accurately solve a problem. The hope is that you were also able to understand both negative and positive aspects of students carrying cell phones in school. The idea is that this practice will help you take logical steps into problem solving in the future.

Standards

NY ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding

NY ELA Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation