At Jackson Milton High School, school policies change every year to keep up with advancements in technology. This year (2015-16) the cell phone policy has been changed for students. The main change in the policy moves the cell phone from having to be in the locker to students being allowed to have their cell phones on them in school. In previous years, students were not permitted to use their cell phones in class for any reason. The policy change not only allows students to have their cell phones on them, but use them in the hallways and during class in some periods.

Senior student Chance Proverbs goes to Jackson-Milton, and he says, “It allows us to interact with the material, and we are learning better. We don’t need to get the slower-running computers anymore because we can use our cell phones to look up information instead.” Chance was asked if he feels his learning process is in any way affected negatively because of the new policy, in which he said, “No, because I know when I need to put my phone down and learn new information. Other students might have a distraction issue because of social media and other things.”

Individual teachers can choose the cell phone policy that best fits in their classroom and students are expected to comply.  Students can schedule homework assignments, photograph notes, and there are several apps that can be used for school.  The change seems to be working in a positive manner so far, and it seems to be a benefit to the student’s learning process as well.