The Calgary Board of Education expanded its personal device policy to include laptops and tablets to prevent social media use in classrooms.
In an email sent out to parents on Wednesday morning, the CBE said it will be implementing restrictions on personal mobile devices and social media use in schools effective Thursday, Aug. 29. Personal mobile devices – including cellphones, tablets, gaming devices, laptops, smart watches, Bluetooth music devices – must be powered off or set in silent mode.
The devices must also be stored out of sight in lockers, backpacks or other designated areas throughout the school day.
This comes after a ministerial order restricting personal mobile devices in classrooms was published by the Ministry of Education on June 20. According to a public copy of the ministerial order, school authorities are required to limit the use of personal mobile devices and restrict access to social media during instructional time and on school networks.
A spokesperson for the CBE confirmed to LiveWire Calgary that the policy will also apply to student personal laptops, but students will be able to access CBE-owned laptops for learning purposes.
“The standards to be implemented are meant to ensure these personal devices and social media do not disrupt learning. Teachers can still access technology and devices for teaching purposes,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“In most cases, students do not need to use their personal mobile devices to participate in learning activities, unless an exception is granted for health and medical needs, or to support specialized learning needs.”
Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the restrictions don’t apply to school or devices owned by a school authority.
“This is because the appropriate use of these devices has always been determined by a school or school authority, however under the new provincial standards access to social media on these devices will be limited,” he said in an email to LWC.
Many parents are supportive of the new policy. Alex Germain, a parent of two kids at Queen Elizabeth High School in northwest Calgary, said he doesn’t see any problems with banning personal mobile devices in classrooms.
“I’m down with it. You’re in school, so you should be concentrating on what the teacher’s asking of you,” he told LWC on Thursday.
Stephanie Cicero, a parent to two daughters, said she’s happy with the change.
“Neither of my kids has a phone, so we’re good on that front,” she said.
Policy won’t hinder technological use in classrooms: assistant professor
Sarah Hamilton, an assistant professor at Mount Royal University’s education department, said she is not surprised that the CBE is restricting students from using personal devices because similar policies have been implemented in B.C. and Ontario.
“I don’t think we’re going to see necessarily a reduction in the technology that’s being used in classrooms, because it’s being leveraged in some classes in really powerful and effective ways. This is designed more to be looking at and sort of limiting those off-task distracted behaviours that cell phones can sometimes provide for or result in classrooms,” she told LWC in an interview.
Hamilton said school boards need to be more flexible with laptops because some students are using them as learning supports or as part of their accommodations.
“And let’s be honest, in the workforce nowadays, computers are everywhere, right? There are very few people who are working in the type of job that requires reading and writing that are not doing that without devices such as computers or, you know, Chromebooks, tablets, those sorts of things. So, I think in that situation, we’re going to see those still being used quite often in the classrooms,” she said.
“What we’re not going to see, though, is when students are supposed to be doing something else that those devices would be out and on.”
Hamilton added that for this policy to work, schools need to also set policies on whether or not personal mobile devices can be used in common areas like cafeterias or hallways.
“I think schools are going to need to wrestle with some of those decisions. I think that there could be advantages and disadvantages provided for allowing students to use the phone in the hallways or on their lunch break or something like that. I’m not sure what’s the best move there,” she said.
Parents, teachers and school boards also need to work together to find solutions to social media use in classrooms for this policy to work, she said.
“We are seeing more and more behaviours online and in digital platforms that are actually impacting what’s going on inside the classroom, what’s going on with students’ mental health … This is a bigger conversation with this cell phone policy,” the assistant professor said.
“[Collaborative efforts are] going to be the make or break of how this policy rolls out and how it continues to be implemented. It needs super clear communication, whether it’s coming from the district or the school.
“The message has to go clearly to families about the consequences when students aren’t following those rules, and it’s going to take support from families to make sure that students are on board.”
