User:BSI26/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Mobile phone use in schools

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

As a school teacher, the issue of cellphones in schools is a topic that I have had to discuss at the start of every academic year. In my experience, students were banned from having cellphones with them in school or in the classroom. Students would usually comply but they had issues with the rule. Many students would break this rule, and then consequences would have to be administered to the students, causing further issues. I always wondered whether this ban was needed and whether school leaders and teachers were fighting a losing battle and if we need to adapt our practices.

Evaluate the article
The article opens with a clear explanatory sentence and identifies the various stakeholders in the discussion. It mentions the controversial nature of the topic and lays out some of the main points on both sides of the argument. The article provides more information and analysis on the negative consequences of the use of phones in schools and in the classroom than it does the positives.

In the studies section, the Lawson and Henderson study is interesting but it is limited to a small sample (120 students). The hypothesis that cellphones impact academic performance and test scores is reinforced by past studies which lends weight to their current findings. However, the terms 'significant' and 'simple' used to describe the test and test results are not explained in any detail and are subjective. The article states the study with 120 students was done after similar studies in the past had been conducted. The studies in the past found similar results according to the article. However, there is no mention of the results from the past studies. The current article also does not mention whether the past studies carried out in relation to the 2015 study were done in a similar fashion. This raises some questions, such as: Did all the studies use the same number of students? Was the same class and same age/level of the students used? How long ago was the study done and does the level of technology and internet access from cell phones match the 2015 study?

The article highlights a study from Irwin and Gupta's 2016 research that shows students who were engaged and interested in the course were less likely to be distracted. Students who had access to their phones still performed poorer than students not allowed access to the cellphones. The article does not make it clear whether some of the students who found the class interesting were part of the group that had their cellphones or didn't have access to their cellphone.

The next part of the article tries to highlight some positives, but fails to use adequate statistics or proven teaching methods to incorporate technology/cellphones to the learning process. Rather, it highlights students' opinions- that they enjoy being able to quickly access digital textbooks. This information was discovered by Dr. Derounian's study of 100 students. However, from this study it was found that 45% of students said they find cellphones helpful in the classroom. More than half of students don't agree. As a result, the study does not support the idea of cellphones or provide any support for it. The article does not highlight why 45% feel that cellphones are not helpful.

The regulations by country section only lists eight countries, and three are predominately English- speaking countries and are given precedence. The 'Regulations by Country' section has not listed any African, Central American or South American countries. This may suggest that there is more information, research and awareness of the issue of cellphones in schools in the countries listed in the article. However, there may be many countries who have information, data or methods on how to deal with cellphones in schools that the article did not provide. The countries that are discussed all seem to support a ban or limit the access of cellphones mainly for the purpose of student safety and to improve student performance. Other issues connected to internet capabilities, academic dishonesty and the socio-economic disparities amongst students are mentioned, but these important factors are not discussed at length. No helpful links are provided either.

Overall, this particular Wikipedia article is limited. It functions as an introductory source on this topic as it highlights many basic, yet important parts of the conversation regarding the use of mobile phones in schools. The article uses credible and up-to-date sources. Furthermore, it provides some specific information regarding educational applications and attempts to present various arguments. However, the topic is not explored in great depth. There is no discussion on how educational apps can be used to support students in the classroom e.g. peer-to-peer feedback, online assessments, academic subscriptions, reading support systems, language support for students who do not speak the native language of the country and how technology can support students with specific or exceptional learning needs.

The article is quite general in nature and could be improved through the incorporation of more information/details from larger population and school samples on the positive and negative impacts of cellphones in schools. The article layout could be presented through a clearer 'for' and 'against' section to have more overall clarity of the points made. For such an important, broad and current topic that affects so many people around the world, this Wikipedia article provides the reader with a surface-level understanding of the topic. More depth and details are required for this to be a more credible and reliable source of information.