Should iMessage be blocked in school?

A common complaint of students is that many teachers strongly condone the use of the iMessage app.  For many students, the iMessage app is good because it’s an easy way to instant message with their friends in class.  This could obviously be seen as a problem because it is the exact same thing as texting just a lot easier to get away with.  Many teachers are in favor of the iMessage app being blocked during school hours because they think it will help students stay on track if they can’t get on it.  Which they are probably right in that students will not be able to instant message their friends whenever they want in class with little risk of getting caught.

But for students, the iMessage app isn’t just used for small talk and gossip.  The ability to instant message friends in class while on Ipads can be educationally beneficial.  When a student needs help with an assignment from someone after school, or has a question about a due date, or anything that has to do with school, they can ask a friend over iMessage.  The argument that the student should ask the teacher for help comes up, but some students are uncomfortable asking for help from a teacher.  Many people are embarrassed to ask questions in front of a class because of the fear of looking silly.  Imessage provides a way to ask questions to someone that can help while doing so in privacy.

It may even be beneficial for teacher to possibly use iMessage during school hours.  If students have questions, they may be able to quickly iMessage the teacher a question and get an answer quickly and quietly.  This would be a good idea because there really is no way for students to take advantage of the teachers using iMessage.  If a student were to do something inappropriate or send non-educational messages to a teacher, the message would be right there on the teachers Ipad and would be proof that that one student is using iMessage inappropriately.

Although some students do use iMessage for the wrong reasons in class, not all do.  iMessage can be educationally beneficial for students and can protect the privacy of students when asking questions.

 

By Ryan Mutchler

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