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Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

greenwichtime.com

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Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#31

Post by diggan »

teruakohatu wrote: post #20

New Zealand just banned student mobile phones recently in all schools [1]. I would guess LTE connected devices would also count. I think banning fitness trackers is a bit much, they are very useful for sports such as cycling, running, tri & swimming. [1] https://www.education.govt.nz/school/digital-technology/cell...

> I think banning fitness trackers is a bit much, they are very useful for sports such as cycling, running, tri & swimming.

The ban seems to target children too young to need to keep track of things like that, as far as I understand the article.

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#33

Post by RealityVoid »

NotACop182 wrote: post #11
trte9343r4 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I got a solution for you then. Any kid caught using their phone in school is expelled. We shall put personal responsibility and consequences as the primary objective. Does this solve your issue.

This is absurd! How would you feel if your workplace implemented such a rule?

Why don't you propose you just shoot them on the spot instead, that will teach them that actions have consequences and will scare them straight!

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#34

Post by JumpCrisscross »

haswell wrote: post #21

I forget who originally suggested this so I can’t take credit. But what if device manufacturers worked with schools to implement some kind of “School Mode” on these devices? Students could retain their access in exchange for schools setting policies on what’s allowed, e.g. you can keep wearing your watch, but it’s effectively in collection-only mode during the school day. Nothing intrusive to the students; more like…

> what if device manufacturers worked with schools to implement some kind of “School Mode” on these devices?

How would you enforce this?

> as our devices become increasingly wearable and integrated with daily life, it seems like a ban is only a temporarily viable solution

I’m a strong proponent of these technologies. But the truth is we mandate, and as a result do, zero testing on how it affects kids before deploying them. For the consumer market, test after selling makes sense. For kids, European-style whitelisting might be better.

We are trending towards a world where kids of the poor and middle class are addicted to screens. That’s a horrifying class divide.

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#35

Post by trte9343r4 »

Version467 wrote: post #18
trte9343r4 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Do you have a source for this? Dog attacks being more common than car accidents seems extremely unlikely to me, given how prevalent car accidents are. I really wouldn't expect a cellphone ban for students to result in a significant rise of delayed treatment for injuries caused specifically by dog attacks. Even if dogs attacking students is such a common occurrence that it warrants consideration in this proposal (whic…

Other commenter posted some data.

My point is that lighter attacks (scratches, jumping, sniffing, licking...) are so common, they can not even be reported.

If students have no cameras, many more teachers would bring their "pets" into school.

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#36

Post by wslh »

haswell wrote: post #21

I forget who originally suggested this so I can’t take credit. But what if device manufacturers worked with schools to implement some kind of “School Mode” on these devices? Students could retain their access in exchange for schools setting policies on what’s allowed, e.g. you can keep wearing your watch, but it’s effectively in collection-only mode during the school day. Nothing intrusive to the students; more like…

If there is a "school mode" you are not the owner of the device and it will be hacked very soon. It is important to realize that there are zillions of different devices beyond the Apple brand.

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#37

Post by _boffin_ »

haswell wrote: post #21

I forget who originally suggested this so I can’t take credit. But what if device manufacturers worked with schools to implement some kind of “School Mode” on these devices? Students could retain their access in exchange for schools setting policies on what’s allowed, e.g. you can keep wearing your watch, but it’s effectively in collection-only mode during the school day. Nothing intrusive to the students; more like…

I see slippery slopes, but will most likely, this will become a feature.

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#38

Post by JumpCrisscross »

xoa wrote: post #2

Having used a Palm Pilot to genuine benefit in highschool in the 90s, and having finally just gotten a smart watch in part specifically to reduce smartphone usage, I have mixed feelings about broad restrictions. Networked smart phones absolutely have major addictive and disruptive effects, and are hard to police in practice. But watches provide some pretty useful health and emergency benefits, while IME have lived up…

> watches provide some pretty useful health and emergency benefits

Fitbits let you “see calls, texts & smartphone app notifications on your wrist when your phone is nearby” [1]. It has all the attention, focus and de-socialisation problems of a smartphone.

[1] https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/products/smartwatches/sense...

Re: Greenwich schools to ban most cellphones, Apple Watches, Fitbits and more

#39

Post by JumpCrisscross »

mbrumlow wrote: post #23
pacbard wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is that they had prior experience with asking students not to use cellphones and they observed students start using wearables to skirt the ban, which led them to just ban all of them. An interesting consequence about the wearable ban is that they also banned medical electronic devices (e.g., heart monitors or blood sugar monitors) and parents are required to meet with administration to approve their use [1].…

If they asked them not to use cell phones and they did not follow the rules, what will happen when they are banned? Simply put. They had rules in place but failed to enforce them. Why will banning them make the enforcement problem solved?

> Why will banning them make the enforcement problem solved?

Whether the phone was being used is debatable. Whether it exists is not. Banning makes communication and enforcement easier.

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