Almost half of the country’s students are distracted by cell phones in class – 12/14/2023 – Education

Almost half of Brazilian students say they are distracted by cell phones during classes. According to the most recent International Student Assessment Program (Pisa), released at the beginning of December, Brazil’s percentage (45.1%) is higher than the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the entity that applies the exam every three years: 30.5%.

This data has made headlines in recent days and reinforces the discussion about the difference between unrestricted use and the intentional and pedagogical use of these devices in the school environment.

The Pisa numbers refer specifically to 15-year-old students and mathematics classes. The report points out that the use of these technologies in class even interferes with those who are not using them: around 40% of Brazilian students lose attention when their classmates are using their cell phones. Once again, the rate is higher than that of OECD countries, which have an average of 25%. The data also shows that almost a third (30.4%) of our teenagers never turn off notifications from applications and social networks during the time they are in class — the average for the economies that make up the OECD is 25.2%.

However, the report itself states that the relationship between the “moderate use” of gadgets and learning is not “intrinsically harmful”, as students who spend up to an hour a day on digital devices carrying out curricular activities obtained 14 points more in mathematics than than those who didn’t dedicate any time. According to Pisa, even observing the socioeconomic profile of students and teaching units, this relationship is still positive in more than half of the countries that participated in the assessment.

In other words, the question is how these devices are used — qualifying this use in favor of pedagogical objectives, at specific moments and with mediation and media education. The creation of clearer and more objective guidelines on the use of these technologies in the school environment, as demanded by the OECD, is directly related, therefore, to the preparation of education networks for this, which does not only depend on resolving structural issues in unequal access to technologies, but to train teachers and other educators for this.

The simple purchase and distribution of equipment and media by education departments does not automatically result in the development of skills and competencies on the part of the student public. The bridge between them is precisely the teacher, who needs to be able to enter this universe effectively also as a citizen in the digital world. How can we prepare new generations without being properly prepared for it?

There are countless studies that show the distance between initial teacher training and the reality of the classroom in Brazil, a distance that the digitalization of social life can irreversibly deepen, as we are undergoing technological transformations at a speed never seen before. The news (some of it scary) about the progress of artificial intelligence is just one example of this process.

This does not mean, of course, allowing the unrestricted use of phones and other gadgets in schools. But the discussion about the release or veto of cell phones within them cannot be separated from a critical view of the use of these technological devices, especially on the part of educators. If electronic devices are relegated to the status of enemies of learning, how will young people know how to use them ethically and responsibly?

Isolating schools from the debate about the benefits and harms of new technologies is a way of depriving children and young people of developing the skills and competencies necessary for an autonomous life in a world where practically all of our relationships have become digital. Qualifying and mediating use is a way of protecting and training them so that they know how to be citizens in the connected world.