ITALIAN
Il Governo Federale sta tentando di convincere gli Stati a introdurre divieti totali di utliizzo di telefoni cellulari nelle scuole in seguito a studi che dimostrano che la tecnologia sta influenzando la capacità di apprendere degli studenti.
Il Victoria ha già annunciato un divieto e il ministro dell'istruzione federale Dan Tehan vuole che altri Stati seguano l'esempio.
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Ogni mattina al MacKinnon Secondary College, a sud-est di Melbourne, gli studenti mettono in silenzio i loro telefoni cellulari e li pongono nei loro armadietti.
E, come spiega lo studente del 12° anno Adam Alfawwal, i dispositivi non vengono recuperati fino alla fine della giornata scolastica.
"It's not like you really needed it in the first place when you're in class. It's not really a necessity. You just leave it in your locker, you come back after school, you can check what's going on and if there's any emergencies anyway you can go to the office and use theirs."
Il divieto in classe è in vigore da più di 18 mesi e, secondo la studentessa dell'11° anno Phoebe Lock, ha avuto un impatto positivo.
"Like I have noticed my grades are going up. Like just stuff like that as well. Just with the distraction is gone it's so much better for learning."
Il Victoria ha annunciato un divieto a livello statale a partire dal prossimo anno e il ministro dell'istruzione del Governo Federale Dan Tehan vuole che altri Stati facciano lo stesso.
"My strong view is that we need to take a very firm stance and we should be looking to regulate the use of mobile phones at school. They should go into the locker as soon as you get to school and they shouldn't come out until school is finished."]]
Una riunione dei ministri dell'istruzione statali e federale ha ascoltato il professor Louis Phillippe Beland, un esperto canadese che afferma che il divieto può aumentare la concentrazione e le prestazioni di uno studente fino al 14%.
["There is a distraction aspect of mobile phones so when schools can ban them it can be a low cost policy to increase student performance. Our results are only for low-performing students. High achievers, good students seem to be able to pay attention regardless."
La preside del MacKinnon Secondary College, Pitsa Binnion, afferma che una conseguenza del divieto è un notevole aumento del livello di rumore nel cortile della scuola durante la ricreazione e la pausa pranzo.
"They were laughing, heads were up, they were engaging, having eye-to-eye communication. We hadn't noticed and hadn't realised that there was this constant heads down looking at the screen."
Ma non tutti gli educatori sono convinti dal divieto.
L'associazione dei presidi teme che possa provocare conflitti tra insegnanti e studenti, che possono fare affidamento sui loro telefoni per importanti informazioni sul programma scolastico.
Servizio di Gareth Boreham per SBS News, letto da Marco Lucchi per SBS Italian
ENGLISH
The Federal Government is pushing the states to introduce blanket mobile phone bans in schools with evidence the technology is affecting the ability of students to learn.
Victoria has already announced a ban and Federal Education minister Dan Tehan wants others to follow suit.
Every morning at MacKinnon Secondary College in Melbourne's south-east, students put their mobile phones on silent and place them in their lockers.
And as Year 12 student Adam Alfawwal explains, the devices aren't retrieved until the end of the school day.
"It's not like you really needed it in the first place when you're in class. It's not really a necessity. You just leave it in your locker, you come back after school, you can check what's going on and if there's any emergencies anyway you can go to the office and use theirs.
The classroom ban has been in place for more than eighteen months and according to year 11 student Phoebe Lock, it's had a positive impact.
"Like I have noticed my grades are going up. Like just stuff like that as well. Just with the distraction is gone it's so much better for learning."
Victoria has announced a statewide ban starting next year and Federal Government Education Minister Dan Tehan wants other states to do the same.
"My strong view is that we need to take a very firm stance and we should be looking to regulate the use of mobile phones at school. They should go into the locker as soon as you get to school and they shouldn't come out until school is finished."
A meeting of state and federal education ministers hearing from Canadian expert Professor Louis Phillippe Beland expert who says a ban can boost a student's concentration and performance b y as much as fourteen per cent.
"There is a distraction aspect of mobile phones so when schools can ban them it can be a low cost policy to increase student performance. Our results are only for low-performing students. High achievers, good students seem to be able to pay attention regardless."
MacKinnon Secondary College principal Pitsa Binnion says a by-product of the phone ban is a dramatic increase in the level of noise in the schoolyard during the recess and lunchtime breaks.
"They were laughing, heads were up, they were engaging, having eye-to-eye communication. We hadn't noticed and hadn't realised that there was this constant heads down looking at the screen."
But not all educators have been won over by the ban.
The Principals Association has raised fears it could cause conflict between teachers and students, who can rely on their phones for important curriculum information.
Story by Gareth Boreham for SBS News
