The Power of the Video on a Cell Phone

I have recently read several articles about the after effects of students placing vidoes that have been taped in school classes without a teacher's knowledge . Some were benign (usually just about classroom behavior or a joke), but some were really scary and hard to watch (teachers yelling, screaming, swearing, harassing kids).

Students often complain about the rules regarding cell phone use in school (cell phones are to be off and out of site at all times during school hours), but I feel some level of comfort knowing that the rule is in place.

I would be very offended if a student secretly filmed my class and then posted it on the WWW. I am not worried that the they contents of my class are worthy of WWW posting, but videos, like speech or text, can be edited or taken out of context and turned into something humorous, embarrassing or violent.

I fear that someone would watch an edited version of a class (as someone's idea of a joke) and take what was portrayed as serious and that I would find myself in serious situation.

Banning cell phones seems extreme, but it is done not only to keep them from distracting and disrupting class, but also to keep them from becoming a tool to embarrass or hurt an unknowing teacher.
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