Cell phone use in a high school classroom: Three mini-cases explored

Abstract

The ubiquitous presence of digital technologies, in this case cell phones, and the rampant overt and covert usage in high schools by adolescent 21st century digital natives has resulted in high school educators and administrators struggling to respond with appropriate practices and policies. Across three descriptive-narrative classroom incidents, focused on high school student cell phone use and a teacher’s and school’s responses, the authors offer reflexive critical commentary on how in the micro-context of a high school classroom the macro-discourses associated with digital technologies such as “unbridled progress”, “being competitive” and “consumption is good” play themselves out. And, as these discourses play themselves out, the myth of digital technology “neutrality” comes into question.