Nova Scotia’s Education Minister says the province will not be banning cell phones in public schools.
Ontario will ban the use of phones during instructional time by the start of the coming school year.
Zach Churchill says an overall ban is not being considered at this time.
He says there are actually many good learning apps on smart devices.
“That are particularly important for some students with learning disabilities and can be used to enhance the learning experience, so we need to look at utilizing the technology to its greatest advantage, not banning it.”
Churchill says there are guides and policies in place for appropriate use of cell phones.
He says they’ve seen a decrease in reported cases of cyber-bullying in the past couple of years.
“But we have to continue to be vigilant on how these technologies are being used and make sure we’re always adapting our policies to meet the needs of the day. We think we have strong policies in place right now, that’s not to say that they won’t be enhanced in the future.”
(Reported by Gary Nickerson)
(Acadia News photo)
