Students today find it difficult to put their phones away during class. I mean, it nearly devastates them when I look over and say, "would you put your phone away?" In working to think through this phenomenon, there are certainly various reasons leading to the anxiety students feel about placing those technological lifelines out of sight for the duration of the class.
We exist in a time when technology makes information instant, or nearly instant. You don't know something? Google it. Did you hear what this celebrity said about that? Check out Wikipedia. Did you see the cutest picture of a cat sitting on a monkey, sitting on an alligator, sitting on an elephant? Check Snapchat. For my students, most of this digital discussion and exchange occurs on their cell phones.
Now, I have had to question my approach in the classroom when it comes to these devices - can there be a benefit to having them in class? More than once I have asked students to look up something on their phones: the definition to a word in our reading, the birth date of an author, any number of things. But, I also know that having those phones out and on the desk is a temptation for students. Many times I have seen the flash of a phone as a student is notified that s/he has received a text message, voicemail, or update of any sort. It's so hard to resist looking, I know.
I will be thinking about this more as the semester progresses - how can we develop a middle ground for the use of cell phones in the classroom, one that understands the immediacy and dependence we have when it comes to technology, but also considers the distracting qualities that go along with that instant information and endless updates.
1. Wish had this blog post had a blues ringtone embedded.
ReplyDelete2. Depending on the class, depends on how technology is a relative problem for writing inquiry. In other words, through observation as analysis, then including metacognitive invention through the writing process. Perhaps the habits of mind (see Framework of Success Postsecondary Writing) see if learning about the problem is in fact useful.
3. Your description is useful (such an academic decorous statement), but I wonder if this is merely a new stage of the ever problem -- were 19th century men (sic) looking at their watches every two minutes; twentieth century children and adolescent and then office workers always looking through windows, wishing for something sitting on their butts.
4. We're positioned as the instructor with more engaged than students -- we're "on," while students usually aren't on. I struggle, too, with reversing the classroom to put the students "on" more. We still need to resist banking model.
5. It's an early semester. Students were afraid to look at phones during Week 1; now they're comfortable. Now we need to help them commit.
I enjoyed your observation and your empathy for student position.
Technology is in the society. The society is into technology. The society contributes the human and material resources necessary for technology to blossom. There is no denying the obvious fact that technology has indeed, blossomed. The point of discourse is what technology has taken, and is still taking away from the society in its course for growth. sepeda listrik
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