When students got their textbooks in early 2019 at San Mateo High School in California, USA, they also received the Yondr pouch, a locking device for their phones.
The phone slides into it and gets locked through a magnetic device. Its not unlocked again until the final bell rings. The procedure repeated every day for the rest of the school year.
Adam Gelb, the assistant principal ran a pilot project in 2018 with 20 students and decided to do a school-wide, bell to bell program in 2019.
The Yondr pouch is a start-up in San Francisco with a mission to create phone-free spaces, something that resonated with Gelb.
Brad Friedman, a teacher at the school, said he was becoming concerned with excessive use of phones at school. He said he often saw students completely lost on their phones, some not socializing at all with other students.
A few weeks later, he saw the difference.
“Everyone else was socializing and eating lunch together. Thats what I wasnt seeing enough of when phone usage was at its worst,” he said.
A senior at San Mateo High School Djelani Phillips-Diop said he definitely panicked at first when he heard he had to lock his phone.
“When we had phones, I was using it every day,” he said.
In case of emergency, every classroom has the unlocking device. Teachers still have access to their own cellphones and landlines.
“Weve gotten all 1,700 students unlocked with a matter of minutes,” said Gelb.
“We spoke to four students who, despite their initial panic, agreed that a phone-free school experience has its benefits.”
當美國加利福尼亞州圣馬特奧高中的學生在2019年年初拿到課本時,還收到一個用來鎖住手機的Yondr袋子。
手機被放入袋中,然后會被一個有磁力的裝置鎖住。直到放學鈴響后,這個裝置才會解鎖。該程序在2019學年余下的每一天重復運行。
這個學校的副校長亞當·格爾布在2018年和20名學生一起試驗了這個項目,他決定2019年在全校實行鈴聲對鈴聲項目。
Yondr口袋是舊金山的一家初創企業推出的產品,其目的在于創造隔離手機的空間,而這與格爾布的想法產生了共鳴。
該學校的老師布拉德·弗里德曼表示,他擔心學生在校過度使用手機的問題。他說,他經??吹綄W生完全沉迷于手機,有些學生根本不與其他學生交往。
幾周后,他看到了學生的變化。
“每個學生都在社交,他們還一起吃午餐。在學生過度使用手機的時候,我看不到這么多學生參與社交?!彼f道。
圣馬特奧高中的高年級學生德杰拉尼·菲利普斯-迪奧普表示,最初聽說要把手機鎖起來的時候,他很驚慌。
“以前我們有手機的時候,我每天都要使用手機?!彼f。
萬一有緊急情況,每個教室都有解鎖裝置。老師依然可以使用他們自己的手機和座機。
“我們在幾分鐘內就可以解鎖1700名學生的手機?!备駹柌颊f道。
“我們與四名學生談過,雖然他們最初感到驚慌,但后來他們也認為,沒有手機的校園體驗是有益處的?!?h3>Word Study
slide /sla?d/ v.(使)滑行,滑動
They slid down the grassy slope.
pilot /'pa?l?t/ adj. 實驗性的;試點的
The plan is to launch a pilot programme next spring.
access /'?kses/ n. 機會,權利
Students must have access to good resources.
initial /?'n??l/ adj. 最初的;開始的
The initial reaction has been excellent.