How to use smartphone | 33 smartphone uses | do we really need a smartphone?

The smartphone is the most popular device in the modern era. Smartphones belong to the family of mobile phones, but they have many more features as compared to simple mobile phones.

Smartphones are a multi-purpose mobile computing device distinguished by their strong hardware capabilities and broad mobile operating systems includes web browsing, internet, multimedia functionality (including music, video, games, and cameras) along with the basic mobile phone functions like calling and messaging.

        Mobile phones were generally used to made contact with others either for personal use or for business purposes, but now a day’s Smartphones are using in almost all areas of life. If we talk about education and students, smartphones are essential to learn everything and continue studies.

        I mean look around during the corona pandemic all the universities, some colleges, and schools managed online classes, assignments, and projects for students. This whole process mostly relies on Smartphones.

Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

Use of Smartphones in schools:

In start bringing smartphones to the school was not considered suitable because it was considered as an easy source of cheating or its possible immoral use in school, but thanks to so much ubiquity of smartphones, these are now essential in education.

         Using Smartphones during class was not acceptable but the scenario is changing now, today smartphones are turning out to be a useful learning tool. Technology is one way to success for students right now. After a long struggle, the education system is now encouraging the use of smartphones for educational purposes.

Uses of Smart Phones by Students:

1)   Checking info: With the help of smartphones and the internet, both students and teachers can find any information within seconds.

Reading News: Reading articles is one way of teaching methods of many teachers, it is essential in some subjects like Economics, with just a few clicks we can gather all the news in a single smartphone in a single classroom. 

Dictionary: In case we stuck in the meaning of a word, a mobile dictionary can help us find the appropriate meaning.

Take Photos: Smart phone’s camera is an easy way to capture photos of student’s assignments, projects or to illustrate their presentations.

Make Videos: Similarly like photos, videos can be used to record lectures, experiments, presentations for educational purposes. 

Social Learning: Smartphones allow students to work in groups and share information, experience, and projects for better assistance. Also, students can collaborate with students from various countries worldwide.

Reliability: Smartphones can browse full websites with all their large amount of data and their interface is also similar to desktop.

Editing: Anyone can edit or open Microsoft documents in their Smartphone, this feature was not available in a simple mobile phone.

Navigation: Smartphone helps students in navigation. Students can reach their targeted place for e.g Seminar, Exam Hall, University, College, School, etc. Because of GPS technology when the location indicator is on, parents can always know where their child is at the instant.

Photo by fauxels from Pexels

1)  

    Saving: Smartphones can save student’s all important information like books, assignments, messages, lecture videos, passwords, documents, etc. Instead of carrying a whole heavy bag full of books and remembering all the important details and passwords, students just use their smartphone in place.

Backup: Backup option in Smartphones provide the facility to students to back up their all-important notes, pictures, videos, lectures, contacts, documents, and passwords, in case of any data loss they can recover their data very easily.

Scan QR code: QR code offers you to access any video, audio, picture, document, or website instantly. Students can use these codes on their Smartphones to generate answer keys for questions and also to self check their work. These codes are also linked with websites and Youtube videos for extra information. Fun activities also use this service, for eg in the famous and exciting game scavengers when students give the right answer they get a QR code which helps them to reach their next clue.

Apps: Many apps are available on smartphones which students use to enhance their knowledge, these are helpful for your mind growth and students can participate in many brainstorming activities using these educational apps.

Time Management: Gadgets can’t help you in time management but if you have a smartphone you can set a schedule and deadline for everything, similarly you can set alarm on every deadline so smartphones are pretty awesome in case of time management. The stopwatch is also an awesome feature that helps us to manage our time and set an accurate deadline.

Emergency Situation: Sometimes students find themselves in an emergency in school, in the street or at home, they can contact their parents or other relevant authorities. Parents can stay connected with their children even when they are in school or anywhere else.   

Entertainment: As the human brain does not work like a robot, it requires some rest after work, so in the case of students. After many hours of studies,  students are almost drained, they need some entertainment which can refresh their mind and body. Their smartphone has a lot of entertainment for them in the form of Games, Videos, Social Media, and many more things.

Notetaking Apps: Besides gaming, social media and educational apps, some useful apps are also in smartphones to help you organize your all work and schedule like Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote help you store your important things in your mobile phone and you can access them anywhere and anytime you want.

Answer your question: Smartphone is modifying the learning techniques. If a student cant access a library for research or project they can seek help from a librarian through email, message, or call. Many apps offer this service. You can ask any questions related to your work on any search engine where many professionals and experts will answer you.

Translation: Foreign languages are teaching by many institutions even many countries have their whole educational setup in English, which is a foreign language for many countries so in case if student cant understands so words they can seek help from a dictionary, not only words, they can translate whole sentences for better understanding on their smartphone.

Preparation: Smartphone allows you to access resources, books, and helping material. You can go through it quickly right before you your exams, it will give you a better understanding of the concept

Calculator: Smartphone can be used as an ordinary or a scientific calculator. This reduces the amount of items students must carry in their bags. You can use all features of a scientific calculator on your mobile phone.

Video Editing: Not only making videos, but a smartphone also allows you to edit a video to add filters, special effects, captions, subtitles, and more. Students can make their presentations, projects, documentaries, and much more.

Picture Editing: Same in the case of pictures, it can be edit to make them as required.

Twitter: Twitter is the social media app probably most using the app by many educational institutes. Students can get almost all educational news there and also can write tweets about their educational concerns. A smartphone is the best way to stay connected with Twitter.

Weather: Smartphones are the best way of the weather forecast for the teachers who more likely to deliver their lectures in specific weather. They can stay up to date with weather conditions. Students can use this feature also to know the weather before leaving for school. 

Video by Oleg Magni from Pexels

Vocabulary: In foreign language classes students not often pay heat to vocabulary, which plays a crucial part in any language. Many smartphone apps are designed in such a way that they can Improve not only student's vocabulary but also grammar and pronunciation.

Calls and Messages: Students can call or msg their teachers, friends, or seniors for the sake of help in education. Teachers were available during school timing, but that’s a past story. Now students can contact their teachers for help through smartphones by calling or messaging them.

Video Calling: Term of video call is familiar to us but this feature wasn’t popular a few years back because of its poor video quality but now it is a beloved feature all over the world. During the Corona pandemic, nearly all the universities take classes online on a video call. Video call is more effective for learning than audio call as teacher and students can see their facial expressions which help in effective learning.

Inspiration: Originality attracts the students, but some times students get bore than the smartphone is the best way to open the door of a new world which is not discovered yet.

Attendance Record: Smartphone is a suitable device to take attendance of students and keep a record of it.

Share Notes: Teachers share notes for a better understanding of the lecture, some in the beginning, and some at the end of the lecture. Instead of photocopying all the notes which is an expensive and time-consuming way students can simply save soft copy of lecture notes on their mobile phone.

Digital White Board: Many apps served as a whiteboard but optimized to tablets mostly. In case of need, a smartphone can also be used as a whiteboard. 

Social Media: Social media is used for both entertainment and education. Students can spend their leisure time on social media for entertainment, chat with relatives or friends. Talking about education students get knowledge from each other on facebook and other social media platforms, discuss studies, solve problems, and riddles on a social media platform. Talented people also show their talent on social media and some of them get fame which leads them to success.