Armstrong High School’s New Classroom Focus Plan: RFID Phone Pouches
Teachers at Armstrong High School had a big concern before this school year started: what to do about cell phones?
“Our staff survey, this past spring, we asked our staff what we need to improve on,” said Principal Erick Norby. “Number one was phones.”
Distracted students have left many teachers feeling frustrated, according to Norby.
“They’re reteaching and they’re answering the same question because somebody wasn’t paying attention on their phone,” he said.
In an effort to reduce classroom distractions, every student at Armstrong was issued a radio frequency identification (RFID) pouch.
In an effort to reduce classroom distractions, every student at Armstrong was issued a radio frequency identification (RFID) pouch.
These pouches temporarily block a signal or notification from reaching a cell phone.
With Armstrong asking students to refrain from cell phone use during class time, the RFID pouch can act as a distraction deterrent.
“And really all we’re asking students is that, if during instructional time, they want to put it away so they don’t get notifications, they can just put it in the bag,” Norby said. “This is just a tool that will eliminate the notifications if they want.”
Cell phones have kept kids from fully connecting since the COVID lockdowns ended, according to Norby.
“Well the big picture is just that we want kids to be engaged,” he said. “We want them to be communicating to adults and to each other, and kind of get back to the way school used to be and engage more. And what we saw was, the last two years, our engagement was down, it seems like interaction, personal interaction was down because of cell phones.”
Students aren’t required to use the pouches, and are allowed to use their phone during passing time and lunch.
The school was able to buy an RFID pouch for each of its 1,800 students, plus a few extra, thanks to an anonymous donor.
Armstrong High School
