The following is an extract taken from the Newsela website to be used in a training session on using EdTech in the ELT classroom.

Teachers have to say the same thing over and over these days. They have to always tell students to put their phones away.

Most teenagers today have never been far from smartphones.

More than nine out of 10 teens these days own or use a smartphone. More than four out of 10 are almost always online. That means teachers have to teach students who are distracted.

More than 1,000 schools around the United States will be using Yondr this year. Yondr is a magnetic pouch. It allows students to lock away their phones during school. They get to keep the pouches with them.

Phones Locked Away For The Day

Students lock their phones in their pouches every morning. They can unlock the pouch after school ends.

More schools have recently started to use the pouches.

Allison Silvestri is a former high school principal. She was the principal at San Lorenzo High School in California. The school started using Yondr three years ago. Then students started paying more attention in class. She said students were also talking to each other more.