Cell Phone use bans have started at Alberta schools. Bob Schneider/CHAT News

By Jesse Gill

Cell phone use ban begins at Alberta schools

Sep 3, 2024 | 5:17 PM

Thousands of students, including hundreds across Medicine Hat, returned to school Tuesday with restrictions on how they can use their cell phones.

A new policy put in place by the Alberta government to ban cellphone during instructional time was based on feedback that raised concerns over phone use in the classroom.

There will be limited exceptions in place to allow use for those with medical or specialized learning needs.

A level of consistency to be seen for when cell phone use can happen throughout each division.

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Tracy Hensel, acting superintendant, Medicine Hat Public School Division, said the time frame when students aren’t to use their cell phone is pretty clear.

“It’s instructional time, so that I think is going to be the biggest thing to help our students understand what is instructional time and then and what is non-instructional time,” Hensel said.

“When you’re on your breaks and checking for messages or, and that will look specific, that each school has determined what that’s going to look like at their site.”

Dwayne Zarichny, superintendant, Medicine Hat Catholic, said students in their division really won’t notice much difference as they had rules already in place.

“We haven’t really changed very much, and so it’s more just clear expectations,” Zarichny said.

“Elementary schools, for example, typically don’t have a lot of cell phone use, and so their policies or their procedures wouldn’t have been that well defined, where now it’s the same procedure for every school in the division regardless of the age group.”

Within the public school division, Maia Petersen, a Grade 12 student at Crescent Heights High School, has noticed a change creating less cell phone use.

“Well, I got here this morning, I noticed that the Wi-Fi on my phone didn’t work, which was something new. We didn’t have that last year,” Petersen said.

“I think that will definitely change the way that they’re being used. I know that today even I’ve had people come up to me and say the Wi-Fi doesn’t work on my phone,” she added.

“I’ve had to explain to them that that’s the new thing that’s happening this year.”

Student in the Medicine Hat Public School Division will also not have access to social media sites on the schools Wi-Fi network, they will have to use their own data to do so.

READ: Phones banned from Alberta Classrooms starting fall 2024

Hensel encourages students and families to ask questions if they are unsure of any new cell phone use rules.

“Reach out to your school, ask the questions, find out the answers, and we’re all working towards a common purpose,” Hensel said.

“We all want students to be able to engage with technology, but we want them to do it outside of their instructional time when they’re supposed to be learning.”

Additional information is available on each school divisions website, including Prairie Rose Public Schools, which highlighted the need for personal devices to be powered down and not on the student during instructional time, with headphones and ear buds also not in use.

No personal devices in washrooms or change rooms.

With teachers indication when cell phones could be used for learning situations.

School divisions across the province will have until Jan 1, 2025, to have all aspects of the Alberta government order in place.