In today’s era of technology, driven by artificial intelligence, social interactions are undergoing constant transformations, which have an impact on schools. It is no coincidence that one of the major developments in education in the country last year was the ban on the use of cell phones in classrooms, sanctioned by federal law in January. The effects of this new scenario were also discussed at Voices 2025. In Rio, the first capital in the country to ban cell phones in public classes, in 2023, the result is positive, according to the municipal Ministry of Education. A survey carried out in 900 schools in the network showed that after the measure, students saw an improvement of 25% in their learning in mathematics and 14% in Portuguese. Antoine Lousao, deputy executive secretary of Rio’s municipal education department, said the decision to ban it came from the realization that there was an “epidemic of inattention.” — And there is no point in banning it, we need an integrated educational project — he said. — Today, the biggest challenge is the training of teachers and students. There’s no point investing in artificial intelligence if students aren’t prepared for it. Professor Débora Garofalo, reference in education and creator of Robótica com Sucata, recognizes that the improvement in student performance was noticeable in the classroom after the ban on cell phones. But it highlights the importance of digital education that also addresses cell phone use at home. — It’s not an easy job — said Débora, who also highlighted the need to rethink the way of teaching. —We still predominate in lectures, and these boys were not born in that era. Historian and professor Thiago Gomide, GLOBO columnist and creator of the Tá Na História page, said it is necessary to know when to use your cell phone as a tool and when it should be put away. He therefore called for investment in media education in classrooms and cited his own experience with young people, today dominated by the “dictatorship of the like”, as he defined it. — We have to be very prepared to guide these boys, because there is an interest in being famous, and then there is a dictatorship of wanting to be happy, and that is very dangerous. Sharing is worth more, loving is worth more and the frustration is enormous when you don’t obtain an acceptable result. When we talk about banning cell phones, serious media education work is needed. In addition to their impact on students, technology and AI require changes in teacher training. At the PUC, teacher training in this regard is based on the principle of leveraging knowledge and skills already mastered by those who have decades of classroom experience, explains Father Anderson Antonio Pedroso, rector of PUC-Rio. — We need training that enhances what teachers already know, from a perspective of employability and critical thinking. There is no point in mastering AI without taking into account classroom experience, human and emotional intelligence. Without this, it becomes a weapon against us – said the dean of the PUC, who also called for the financial valuation of the teaching career and the regulation of technology. Rio Municipal Secretary of Education Renan Ferreirinha defended the limitations of AI in the classroom and highlighted the role of teachers. — Technology can help with training, but the group experience is irreplaceable in continuing education. AI must be used, but it must be very clear how far it can go, especially in basic education — said Ferreirinha, who values the role of teachers as mediators of knowledge and relationships. — Society began to value this with the experience of having children at home during the pandemic.
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