• In the US and UK, steps have been taken at a local and national level to severely restrict or ban the use of cellphones in the classroom—a move welcomed by teachers and some parents.
• Many of the original reasons for allowing cellphone use at school—such as for emergency contact and to enable students from low-income families to access schoolwork when a laptop might not be accessible—have been solved by other solutions.
• To meet the needs of students and educators, those implementing AI solutions must ensure that the generative solutions are data-driven in an ethical way and are relevant to those using them.

By Mark Davis

Introduction

2024 was a big year for technology in the education industry, and 2025 is showing more of the same. As was the case with many other sectors, artificial intelligence (AI) came to the fore in the classroom. Students and teachers alike have begun using applications such as ChatGPT in their work, and the use of these AI applications is only expected to increase as time goes on. Meanwhile, smartphones are ubiquitous and smarter than ever. Although the benefits of emerging technologies to a sector like education cannot be overstated, the threats that they might pose are also undeniable. This has prompted education professionals, parents, and governments to monitor and regulate the use of smartphones and AI in the classroom on a global level.

Smartphones in the Classroom

Alongside the discourse surrounding AI in education has been the call to regulate smartphone use in K-12 settings. In the US and UK, steps have been taken at a local and national level to severely restrict or ban the use of cellphones in the classroom—a move welcomed by teachers and some parents. The question is, will these efforts work in the long term? And what effect will regulations have on other areas of technology use, such as “bring your own device” (BYOD) settings?

In August 2024, The New York Times published an article reporting that eight states had adopted measures to limit cellphone use in the classroom. The measures varied by state, though. In Indiana, for example, the ban forbids cellphone usage during instructional time but makes dispensations for those who need a device for medical or disability reasons. Many of the original reasons for allowing cellphone use at school—such as for emergency contact and to enable students from low-income families to access schoolwork when a laptop might not be accessible—have been solved by other solutions. All the while, educators and parents welcome measures to tackle the issues of distraction in class, cyberbullying, and tech misuse.

Similar measures have also been debated at a national level in the UK. In February 2024, the Department for Education issued guidance on how and why cellphone use should be prohibited in schools in England. These were only guidelines and did not call for an outright ban of cellphone use. As the year progressed, however, calls for a legislated outright ban grew stronger among teachers and union representatives.

In September 2024, I spoke with a Principal of a London secondary school. His school has a “zero-tolerance” approach to cellphone use and has implemented an outright ban on the devices for over 20 years, so he welcomed the legislation attempts. He stated, “Every Headteacher [Principal] would mandate a zero tolerance to mobile phones if they could. Even a partial ban is difficult to enforce during the school day. These devices undoubtably contribute to cases of bullying and misuse, distracting teaching professionals from the job they are there to do—teach!”

Interestingly, calls for the regulation of cellphone use in the classroom also come from recent research conducted on the subject. The most recent UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report concludes that smartphones should only be allowed in school when they clearly support learning. Furthermore, debates around data privacy, safety, and well-being also underpin how these devices should be used. Cellphone bans are common in other parts of the world, such as Asia, and additional studies (such as one conducted by MIT in 2016 and another conducted by the London School of Economics) show that students who did not have access to cellphones during lessons generally did better in exams. This is because removing the technology has been shown to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

AI is Here…But is the Industry Ready?

During my conversation with the high school Principal in London, we broached the subject of AI use in school and attitudes toward its use for homework. His remarks surprised me, because the Principal did not seem concerned with the influence of AI and potential misuse on a student’s work. He noted, “If a student used AI to write a report or exam response, it would be easy to know because it will be too perfect.” He has a point, but what might happen in the coming years when AI becomes more nuanced in what it can do and a student’s ability for prompt writing becomes more advanced? Added to the concerns over safety and well-being, the issue of misusing AI for schoolwork will continue to be a thorn in the side of educational professionals.

One of the major questions continuing from last year will be around AI readiness: are educators and establishments ready for AI and can they manage it effectively? To meet the needs of students and educators, those implementing AI solutions must ensure that the generative solutions are data-driven in an ethical way and are relevant to those using them. Implementing solutions just for the sake of doing so will not benefit students or educators. Implementors must also ensure that “privacy by design” is embedded into any solution. Complying with privacy regulations and cybersecurity standards is imperative, but AI providers must go further to ensure that solutions are flexible and can meet the needs of individual institutions.

Global efforts to regulate AI development and its use are still in their infancy. The EU passed the landmark AI Act in March 2024 and the US has passed its AI Government Act, but both only cover the broader aspects of AI creation and implementation. More granular regulation for AI use in the education industry will likely come at a local level, and education institutions will need to regulate use individually to suit their needs and concerns. It will be important to continue monitoring AI development and use while also being proactive in adjusting regulations and guidelines when changes are required.

The Bottom Line

Technology, whether it be in the form of a cellphone or ChatGPT, is unavoidable in any industry…including education. Educators and students have never had so many choices in what technology they use and how they use it, but this level of choice also brings the opportunity for misuse. Educators, parents, and legislators are now attempting to grapple with the issues around misuse in the classroom, and calls for sensible, pragmatic regulation continue to grow stronger. It will be interesting to see how far this regulation of use will stretch. Institutional regulations over BYOD policies vary, but they will likely become more standardized as time goes on and the potential for misuse continues to grow. Ultimately, technology must be used to aid learning. When it fails to fulfill this requirement and student well-being becomes an issue, institutions and legislators must work together to provide proactive guidelines and regulations to ensure that the tools are benefiting the users.

As a Research Associate for Keypoint Intelligence's Content & Publishing Group, Mark Davis is responsible for producing BLI A4 Lab Test Reports, InfoCenter deliverables, and blogs for the company's public site. He is a graduate of The University of Winchester (MA, Critical and Creative Writing) and The University of Westminster (BA Hons, English Literature, First-Class Honours), and he is currently working towards a Ph.D. in English Literature at The University of Westminster.