By Kate Rettig

You ask your teacher what puissant means. They say, “Why don’t you look it up in the dictionary?” Dictionary? Why couldn’t she just tell you? An even better question is, why can’t you just look it up on your phone? It takes 17 seconds to look it up on my phone as opposed to the 58 seconds it takes to look it up in the dictionary.

Smart phones should be used as a tool in classrooms. Smart phones are capable of looking up information as well using numerous downloadable applications that can help improve academic performance.

“I think phones should be used in class,” freshman Blake Nelson said. “They’re very good for educational purposes. Nowadays with your iPhone or Android, you can get educational apps.”

My generation grew up with technology. We’ve known how to use a phone since we can remember. Schools, however, are slow to adjust to the technological evolution. Phones are still known as contraband.

At school, you do the assignments that correspond to the lecture. My teachers talk about using technology, but never actually use it. They encourage the use of iPads and laptops, but they should be using what we know best: our phones.

Communication is a necessity in life. We have to be able to communicate to each other. Phones are meant to help one another communicate. In school, we run into language barriers. This problem occurs every school year. It should be solved.

With more than a million apps to download, news feeds to check and messages to send, it’s impossible to ignore them for eight hours a day. That’s why social studies teacher Fran Bartlett allows students to use them if they are given permission, but she has concerns.

“I think [a smartphone] prevents them from absorbing all of the information they need to be absorbing from class presentations,” Bartlett said. “Overall, I think they’re more a distraction in a class than a tool to be utilized.”

Technology is very expensive. While smart phones range from $100 to $800, the school does not pay for them. Students’ parents pay for the phones.

The district passed a $90-plus million bond issue this year. A large proportion of this is going to enhance technology. Focusing these funds on student needs sounds appealing, but before spending millions of dollars on technology they should consider what students already bring with them.

The majority of them bring their smart phones. It’s believed that smart phones are small versions of computers and if students already have one, why aren’t schools using them?

For the students who don’t have one, they can distribute devices.  I believe that if we do that, it would be fair.

At the end of 2013, this problem is still being debated. Change continues to occur, but slowly. It shouldn’t be this difficult to integrate phones into school.

There are many positive outcomes if we act now.