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Schools turning to students smartphones as an instructional device

Posted at 5:30 AM, Oct 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-17 07:31:39-04

With school in full swing, your kids are probably getting a lot of homework already.

And chances are they might need a little help from time to time.

If you don’t have the answers, luckily there are now apps to help with that.

Pulling a cellphone out during class used to mean its confiscation and perhaps detention for the students bold enough to try.

Now a growing number of schools are turning to students’ smartphones as an instructional device that can augment classroom learning.

“We want to make sure that what we are using are the most effective resources, and that it is not something that’s going to perhaps guide our students down the wrong path or give them false information. With any apps or any online technology, it is very important that we always thoroughly check it out first to make sure that it is going to help reinforce the skills that we are actually doing in the classroom,” said Miller High School and Metro School Principal Bruce Wilson.

Bruce Wilson, a principal at Miller High School and Metro School of Design says students can better internalize their lessons when they’re doing them on their own personal smartphones or tablets.

“Part of that is giving them the tools so they can always engage in learning themselves, whether that is here at school, or at home or wherever. But it is helping them become lifelong learners and having the tools and resources so they can continue to build on upon their learning skills,” said Wilson.

Teachers use countless apps, many of them free, to better connect students with coursework on a platform they’re familiar with.

“With the improvements of technology, a lot of our students are really raised with these apps. So a lot of our teachers adapted and are conforming teaching what the students know,” said Instructional Teacher Advisor Celina Perez.

With the growing trend of BYOD or Bring Your Own Device, many schools like Miller have integrated mobile devices into lesson plans, and it’s also another way to allow the student or parent to access important campus information, maps, schedules, and grades.

“A lot of the apps that our teachers use, for example the Google Classroom, they imbedded into our Canvas, which is our learning management system. Parents have access to it as well as our students so there is no excuse from them not to do any homework,” said Perez.

Smartphones have all the tools necessary to boost student learning.

“We are one of the top schools in Corpus Christi so our students have been very successful with the implementation of the apps in their classrooms. It is vital that we provide them with the opportunity to continue to succeed,” said Perez.