The usage of phones in class can be both beneficial and detrimental to the learning process. It really depends on the type of student you are. 

 If appropriately used, having a phone can be very handy to have close by while in class. If a teacher uses slides for their lecture, many students use their phones to follow along to ensure they have enough time to take notes. Another way students put their phones to use within a class is by searching for quick questions when they need extra information. 

Senior Chole Russel explained, “I use my phone to look up questions I have when I’m unfamiliar with the content the teacher is teaching.” She believes that phones are only a distraction if a student makes it out to be. If the student is using their phone to play games and check social media, then that’s when it becomes a distraction in school. 

Other students have different ideas about the usage of phones in class. WVHS student Talia Valdez believes that phones are a distraction in school. She states, “I don’t get classwork done when I am on my phone.” She hasn’t been using her phone in class due to strict rules against it enforced by her teachers. If she does go on her phone, she tends to scroll through social media and message her friends. 

Phone usage at school can both be a distraction and a useful object to have within the classroom, depending on the ways students use them.