Originally posted by kristie dewald on February 10, 2019
From my first year of teaching in 2007, my colleagues and I have been asking each other, “what do you do? Do you allow students to use their phones in class? Oh, you ban them altogether?”. It’s a point of frustration and confusion.
Some comments have already been made on the topic of using phones in the classroom in this course. However, I think there are some differences in smaller, interactive classes from lecture style classes in college and university. Since I teach business classes at the post-secondary level, this is the classroom environment I am most interested in.
What an excellent topic, Kristie! I really enjoyed your thorough and informative video on this constantly posed question. I am not a teacher in post-secondary, but can imagine just how difficult it might be to decide what to do with cell phone usage. Your points were clear on whether or not to ban them or integrate them into the classroom. I feel that because there are so many applications that perhaps cellphone could supplement and even enhance a students’ education. Banning cell phones entirely seems rather harsh, as students might need to be communicating with family member for personal reasons and keeping connected. I wonder if the research considers using cellphone for students who have specific learning needs. For example, an ELL student who may need extra support in translating certain vocabulary during a lesson or a student who has health needs and may need an application to let them know their insulin levels etc. Therefore, I think banning them altogether might be extraordinary. When looking at the way technology advances, how can we ad educators use technology to advance WITH our students. Thank you for a very thought provoking topic and outstanding presentation.
(Did you use iMovie?) Thanks.
It is a constant struggle to find a balance when it comes to the use of cellphones in classrooms. I was also frustrated by it first when I first participated in an orientation for new students last year. I noticed how students started to take photos of the important slides during the presentation for as someone who prides herself on my note-taking skill with the old-fashioned paper and pen style, I was very taken aback by that.
However, I started to notice that during individual advising appointments, some students would take out their phone to find the list of questions they had prepared before the meeting and others would quickly type down the important info I gave them on the phone. Since then I see the use of cellphones in a different light. I wonder if the wild use of phones in educational settings could be a generational phenomenon. While we (those who work in education) see phones can be a major distraction, perhaps students are treating the phone usage simply as another way to get organized on their studies? We talked about the different learning styles and by taking photos, recording, and typing notes, students are able to utilize the digital content while still able to find a way that aligns with their preferred learning methods.