Try This: PhoneSoap
Have you ever worked in a shared device environment? Do you like to stay healthy?
If you answered yes to either of those questions then I believe you need some type of PhoneSoap product in your life! I was fortunate to stumble upon an amazing deal in June and picked up a personal sanitizing device (PhoneSoap 3) as well as one for the classroom (PhoneSoap XL) in a bundle*. Why would I invest my own money in a PhoneSoap XL to use at school, you ask? During the school year I spend more time in the classroom than anywhere else. Of course we need to improve our hand washing routines for the middle school students, but regardless of that there are always germs being spread (not on purpose) around the classroom. The rest of the teachers at school deserve to share in the UV sanitizing goodness that is PhoneSoap, so the XL was the best option. Plus, did I mention it was a phenomenal deal?
Great company, Real Science
I am already a happy customer - the support from PhoneSoap when I emailed and called with questions before I even purchased anything was fantastic. As a teacher I do a lot of research and choose where to spend my limited funds very carefully. These devices will pay dividends as they help zap germs on a daily basis. I have begun sanitizing all things that I can think of in my own home (phone, credit cards, keys, tablet, remotes, bluetooth keyboard, wireless mouse) and will plan to take the PhoneSoap XL to school this fall.
The science behind what PhoneSoap does is real. They have plenty of evidence to show how the UV light kills bacteria. For me it is one of those things that will make me feel better just having it available, so the mental aspect of it is a bonus too. I am thrilled to be able to put one in my classroom and can imagine several teachers making use of it throughout the day for their own phones. If we can all stay a little healthier it will be well worth the small investment. I have even considered the idea of growing some cultures in science class, including having students test their own phones before and after a cycle in the PhoneSoap, but I am not sure I can handle the results! We have petri dishes and bleach (to kill the bacteria after)…all we would need is the growing medium. Will we or won’t we? Stay tuned this fall!
Yes, you can afford one!
The products PhoneSoap has available are not meant for handling the demand of a full classroom of devices. While these devices are small and would not necessarily be practical for running more than 1-2 tablets at a time (larger one) or single phones (smaller one), you should still consider having one in your life. What I would love to see from PhoneSoap would be some type of lockable cabinet/cart for devices specifically made for schools. This is reminiscent of the cabinet for storing lab safety goggles that used to be a staple in traditional lab room in any high school. Yes, I am old enough to remember them and have used them as a teacher! While those can cost a school a small fortune, they are definitely worth it to sanitize goggles. One important thing missing from all of our updated “makerspaces” and modified lab settings is this type of cleaning and sanitizing routine from traditional labs. It would be nice to have something that sanitizes geared towards shared tools or devices that get a lot of use by a number of people in these design lab settings.
You already have some medical options, so why not create something for the teachers, PhoneSoap? If PhoneSoap could produce something, with teacher feedback, it could be a game changer for helping to keep those 1:1 and shared devices sanitized. I imagine business offices would use them as well for their employees. Until then could your admin team afford to buy a PhoneSoap XL for your staff lounge? Perhaps a Teacher’s Appreciation gift from families? Yes, yes they can. You can tell them I said so!
Stay healthy my friends!
Some light reading on what PhoneSoap does:
https://www.phonesoap.com/pages/how-dirty-are-cell-phones
*Author’s note:
At the time of publishing this post the PhoneSoap XL is out of stock and the bundle is not available.
THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED AFTER WE HAVE TRIED THE XL FULL TIME IN THE CLASSROOM