Left to right: Indiana Wales, Shaylah Lockett, Matthew Antoniou, Laura Tyack, Jessica Storace, Marlow Choi-Hatcher.
Six Gisborne Secondary College students are advocating for a responsible mobile phone management in schools when they table a Bill at the 2019 YMCA Victoria Youth Parliament.
Jessica Storace, Marlow Choi-Hatcher, Shaylah Lockett, Laura Tyack, Indiana Wales and Matthew Antoniou are hoping their proposed management strategy will improve the usage of mobile phones during school hours to increase productivity and maximize the benefits of mobile technology in a learning environment.
Through an application-based initiative that allows teachers to manage students’ access to mobile phones during school hours, it restricts the usage of social media and gaming applications.
“Mobile phone usage is an essential part of our daily lives. Adults rely on mobile phones for work all the time, why can’t young people do the same?” Ms Storace said. “What teachers always focus on is the negative aspects of using mobile phones, but it actually has many benefits for students too.” The group listed accessing search engines and online encyclopedia in class as the benefits of using mobile phones during school hours among others. They also hope that if the Bill is passed, it will reduce cyber-bullying in schools.
“With better education on using mobile phones for positive purposes such as for learning, we hope to also decrease the rate of cyber-bullying – especially during school hours,” said team member Ms Lockett.
YMCA Victoria Youth Parliament sits on July 1, 2 and 4.
This article originally appeared on the Macedon Ranges Leader, June 11 edition.