Enhancing Focus and Academic Performance: The Power of Faraday Bags for Middle School and High School Students

In today's digital age, smartphones have become an integral part of our lives, and it's no different for students in middle school and high school. However, the excessive use of smartphones during class time has proven to be a significant distraction, hindering students' ability to focus and impacting their academic performance. While school administrators may be unable to take away students' phones, an effective solution is to allow them to store their devices in faraday bags. By eliminating phone use and associated distractions like social media, texting, and games, students can better focus on their studies. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of students using faraday bags at school, how it can contribute to improved academic outcomes, and factors to conider when evaluating the best bag to introduce to schools.

In recent years, there has been a concerning trend of overall test scores dropping among middle school and high school students. Many experts believe that the rise of smartphones and their pervasive use among students is a contributing factor. According to studies, the constant presence of smartphones in classrooms leads to decreased attention spans, reduced engagement in learning activities, and a decline in academic performance. It is essential to address this issue and find effective ways to mitigate the negative impacts of smartphones on students' education.

Faraday bags offer a practical and effective solution to minimize phone distractions during class time. These bags are designed to block incoming and outgoing signals, effectively rendering the device inside them inaccessible. By using a faraday bag, students can focus solely on their studies without the temptations of social media notifications, text messages, or addictive games. This technology creates a controlled environment that encourages better concentration and engagement in classroom activities.

Teachers are constantly testing out different options for deterring smartphone use, ranging from strict no-phone policies to requiring phone storage in a central cabinet or charging dock. What they're in search of is the best and easiest solution for an instant shift in classroom behavior; this is why many are turning to faraday bags.

When comparing various tools for eliminating smartphone distractions, farady bags are becoming the new trusted tool for student use. Lockable phone bags like Yondr pouches have been in the market for years, however faraday bags prove to be more accessible, cost-effective, and don't require setup fees or staff to manage unlocking stations. Students simply place their devices inside the faraday bag, seal it, and smartphone distracions are eliminated. They can open the bag on thier own when class is out of session; no assistance required.

1. Enhanced Focus: By eliminating smartphone distractions, students can concentrate more effectively on the subject matter being taught. This increased focus allows for deeper comprehension and better retention of information, ultimately leading to improved academic performance.

2. Reduced Temptations: Faraday bags remove the temptation to check social media, send messages, or play games during class, creating a more conducive learning environment. This helps students develop self-discipline and better time management skills. They also prohibit students from scanning the internet on their phone for test and classwork answers.

3. Improved Classroom Dynamics: With fewer distractions, classroom dynamics can improve significantly. Teachers can foster meaningful discussions, encourage active participation, and create a more engaging learning environment.

4. Increased Productivity: By eliminating the need to constantly check and respond to notifications, students can complete tasks and assignments more efficiently, leading to increased productivity and better time utilization.

When selecting faraday bags specifically for students' frequent use, certain factors should be considered to ensure their durability and longevity, thus saving the school district money over time.

1. Welded Seams: Opt for faraday bags with welded seams as they reduce the chances of seams ripping (compared to textile bags with seams and binding), ensuring the bag's longevity and effectiveness.

2. Durable Waterproof Exterior: Choose a bag with a durable waterproof exterior to repel spills and make cleaning easier. Waterproof faraday bags can be wiped with disenfectant, to reduce germs and grime. This feature also reduces the chances of the shielded liner being destroyed from accidental liquid spills or punctures, extending the bag's lifespan.

3. Spacious Interior: Select a faraday bag with a spacious interior to accommodate different cell phone models, including those with bulky cases and smartwatches. This ensures that all students can use the bag effectively, regardless of their device. The average phone size faraday bag does not fit some phones with thick cases.

4. Magnetic Closure: Look for bags with magnetic closures as they are more resistant to wear and tear than bags with hook and loop (Velcro) closures. Considering that students will open and close the bag multiple times a day, a magnetic closure will prove more durable and reliable.

There are many phone size farday bags on the market to choose from, although most of the cheaper options are not built with quality materials, aren't as high-shielding as advertised, nor are they intended to withstand frequent or "hard" use. Hard use relates to hard pulling on the opening (hook and loop or Velcro's durability will dimish over time), frequent handling (which may wrinkle the shielding liner and rip seams), and careless treatment of the bag (which is somewhat expected with student use).

With frequent use and miscellaneous damage, degradation is unavoidable, although the rate of which varies greatly based on the bag's features and quality. That's why it's important to conduct a multi-year viability analysis, comparing the lifespan of different faraday bags.

For example, MOS Equipment (the manufacturer of Mission Darkness™ faraday bags) conducted a viability analysis based on a school district's purchase of 300,000 faraday bags. This is a realistic amount of bags that may be purchased by a large school district, to introduce to their entire middle school and high school student population. An analysis like this is necessary to ensure that the purchasing department is spending the school district's money wisely by considering all factors that will contribute to degradation and bag failure thoughout a specified time period, and to factor in predicted loss and reorder rates. See the report details below.

*For potential orders of this magnitude, it's also important for the school district to purchase from a trusted supplier that not only has the production capacity to produce large volumes, but can also provide optimal quality inspection and customer support.

MOS Equipment considered all of these important factors when designing a phone size faraday bag specifically for student use. The result is the newly introduced Mission Darkness Academic Focusshield: a phone size faraday bag for preserving concentration, amplifying academic focus, and empowering sucess with device limitation.

Mission Darkness constructed the bag with high-quality materials, including a durable and waterproof TPU exterior with welded seams and multiple layers of TitanRF™ Faraday Fabric, a lab certified high-shielding material that blocks Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cell signals, GPS, RFID, NFC, and radio signals from low MHz to 40GHz. The patented NeoLok™ closure system allows the user to effortlessly close the bag with a double roll magnetic seal, eliminiating potential degradation issues brought on by traditional textile bags with hook and loop closures and stitched seams. The size is spacious enough to fit phones with bulky cases plus smartwatches.

Additionally, this bag is offered to school districts at an affordable bulk discount rate, helping to ensure more students have acccess to this innovative disctraction-free tool.  

Incorporating faraday bags into classrooms can have a significant positive impact on students' focus, engagement, and academic performance. By effectively eliminating smartphone distractions, students can develop better study habits, engage more actively in classroom activities, and achieve improved test scores. School districts should consider investing in high-quality faraday bags, such as the Mission Darkness Academic Focusshield, to provide students with the tools they need to succeed in today's digital world.