Mobile phone ban at school and during learning activities - yes or no? 

Whether in primary or secondary education, the mobile phone always plays an important role in the lives of students.  

Could that be a problem? 

Yes, because it often distracts children and young people from their lessons in the classroom, and from studying at home. That's why mobile phones are often banned at school or while doing homework.  

Is this really necessary? 

Yes and no, because the smartphone does not necessarily have to get in the way of further education. Some apps and widgets can even facilitate and improve both teaching and learning at home. 

It is only important that the way you manage the mobile phone, and the apps you select to be used is done consciously. That is why we have put together some suggestions and tips for you. 

Which apps can be useful for school? 

For everyday school life, any apps that can help to track deadlines or homework, or promote communication within the school are particularly useful. But learning can also be facilitated by apps: for example, flash cards are helpful when it comes to learning long vocabulary lists by heart. 

In addition, there are numerous apps and widgets that deal with very specific topics, such as math apps that solve problems and also explain the solution, or dictionaries for various foreign languages. 

Similarly, some students may find it helpful to use apps to be reminded to drink water or take a break. 

Organise and plan the school day with apps 

Did you forget the school planner at school, misplace your homework, or don't have the timetable at hand? Your children are probably familiar with these hiccups. 

If this is happening often, it can be useful to install a timetable app - for example, Timetable Deluxe, Scoolio or Untis Mobile.  

Depending on the type and scope of the app, you can create a classic timetable, calculate your grade point average or even play quizzes and chat with other fellow students. 

Sometimes it can be worth it to spend a small amount of money to purchase the ad-free version of the app.  

Learning in a more structured way with apps 

Is the rule "No mobile phone while studying and doing homework" also one of your family rules? Then perhaps you should reconsider them, because the smartphone is not always a disruptive factor. On the contrary, there are already many apps that support learning in a creative way and according to personal learning difficulties. 

• Have your child create digital flash cards, for example with Brainscapes flashcards or StudySmarter, so they always have them with them and can use their smartphone affinity to learn. 
• Scanners, calculators, dictionaries or language learning apps such as Babbel or Duolingo can also be helpful. 
• If your child is struggling with doing homework, you can help yourself with math questions using the tutoring app GoStudent or Photomath.
• Creating mind maps with Mindly can also be useful to prepare for presentations.  
• If your main concern is that your child does not play pointlessly on the mobile phone, quizzes or learning games can be useful, such as Cyber Security Quiz, Saferinternet-at-Quiz or ANTON. 

As you can see, there are endless possibilities. It often helps to think a little "out of the box". Just because in the past it was more common to learn primarily offline, it does not automatically mean that homework and studying are less efficient when done online, or with the help of certain apps. 

Apps for communication and data exchange  

Has your child lost or forgotten their learning materials? No problem: there are numerous apps that allow students to connect with each other, or even with teachers, directly from home. And no, you don't necessarily need WhatsApp or other big messaging services. 

With the cloud storage services Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive, for example, files and documents can be shared and worked on together - no matter where you are. The ability to work on the same document simultaneously is particularly useful for group work.  

With cloud services, it is important to pay attention to data protection: any data that is placed in a cloud is not encrypted. Such services should therefore not be used for confidential or personal data. 

Apps like FaceTime, Skype or Classting can of course also be used for chatting. But they can also be very useful when it comes to clarifying questions of understanding, organising group work or communicating changed timetables. 

Above all, privacy and data protection are important. Teachers should also not be allowed to share personal information via such platforms. 

Apps to avoid digital distraction 

That sounds contradictory at first. After all, it is often the mobile phone that distracts from learning. Incoming messages, Instagram or Snapchat notifications may tempt you to look at the screen instead of the textbooks. However, there are also some apps that not only promote concentration (e.g. Lumosity), but also pay attention to the general well-being, for example by reminding you to drink water (e.g. Aqualert). 

There are also apps that help you avoid picking up your mobile phone in the first place, such as Forest: if you keep to predefined mobile-free times, a tree will grow in the app. If you look at your mobile phone too early, it will die. 

Pro tips 

• Enter offline times in the calendar 
  If online appointments are limited in the same way as other appointments, it is easier to stick to them. Students should decide in advance when they want to take time for which online activity and consciously switch off in between. 
• Set concrete goals 
  Like New Year, the start of a new school year is a good time to set goals for yourself. For example, one goal can be to reduce screen time by setting a maximum online time per session. Apps can help to measure screen time. 
• Use social networks for learning activities 
  Many students find it helpful to organise online groups for studying together with their school colleagues. This way, they can set fixed study times when they can meet others online, check each other's work or help each other out. 
• Watch out for eyestrain 
  Too much time in front of the screen is not only exhausting, but even unhealthy. It is therefore important to take breaks to look away from the screen, to let your eyes circle around, to do the figure eight eye exercise, and to alternate your gaze from near to far to relax the muscles of your eyes. 

With the help of the right apps and a little motivation, nothing can go wrong this school year. As with all apps, it is important that students are careful with their personal information and respect their privacy and data protection.  

Find out more about the work of the Austrian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.