CELLPHONES IN CLASSROOMS

With great power, comes great responsibility; the almost impossible responsibility of reining in that temptation that tugs at you to ask Google for help. Because you can. Forgetting an important date or a formula is not going to present teachers with glorious opportunities anymore to snatch precious marks away with a pen, glowing with red ink, like swords cutting through air. That sound oozes cruelty. And so, in cooperation with the Internet, the twenty first century brings you Electronic Cheating. (A round of applause for high definition cameras as well.)

The ever-growing popularity of cell phones has come to a point where fun and play precede necessity. In addition to fanning our narcissism, cell phone cameras take notes for us while internet or Bluetooth allow us to pass those notes from corner to corner without having to make any suspicious movements in the classroom during exams. Whispering, poking your friend in front, positioning your neck in the most unsuspicious way possible, furtive glances at the teacher, exchanging pieces of paper are quaint actions found only in novels now. What further proves our deceptive innocence is how, thanks to technology, we manage to sit miles away from each other, throwing the most unthreatening smiles at the invigilator, while sharing ten answers in less than a minute. 

Ever noticed how the desks are almost spotless these days, unsoiled by educational scribbles, standing the test of time, patiently waiting for the arrival of the next student in need? Cell phones are alarmingly crawling their ways into classrooms and while this may prove to be an immediate access to knowledge during class hours, they are eating away the learners' exam performance skills. They are boosting their confidence in a wrong and rather harmful way. Electronic cheating is not restricted to classrooms anymore; plagiarism is on the rise too.

While plagiarism machines are used to contain the situation these days, students also need to understand that 'Googled up' answers are not difficult to catch; you are only embarrassing yourself. Public examinations are banning all sorts of electronic devices inside the exam hall but many students are earning degrees based on the instant knowledge the Internet has provided them with. Ever seen that viral meme where a valedictorian asks you to respect your elders because they have survived school without Wikipedia, copy-paste, or Google? In our generation's defence, our predecessors were not exactly saints. People of all ages have found sneaky ways to obtain answers to all sorts of questions the teachers threw at them. What is a matter of concern is that the easier it becomes, the more we come to rely on them. It becomes difficult to resist; in fact, there are students who resort to these magic devices for help because some other course took up all their study hours.

Restricting cell phones is not the answer, however. Currently the most plausible solution is strict exam room policies a la public examinations, and teachers creating the awareness in classrooms and encouraging creativity. The Internet is only a source of knowledge; originality is in our hands.

Imani Khaled is an animal lover, forerunner of her imaginary anti-frizz campaign, and sketches exotic travel plans all day, everyday. Reach her at imanikhaled@gmail.com