Electric Avenue
The hallways are full of students talking on cell phones or textmessaging on the way to and from classes.
Once in class: "Please put that away." "You know the rules." "Do you want me to own that?" "OK, give me the cell phone."
"No."
"What do you mean, no? You really don't have an option here."
"No, I'm not going to give it too you."
"Fine. You can make that choice and give it to security in the office."
"OK, but can I get it back after class?"
"No, you can't. You can get it back from the office."
(Student reluctantly hands over cell phone.)
This coversation is repeated a number of times, with a number of students, over an increasing number of electronic devices. In case you didn't know, CD players are almost passé at this point. It's the tiny spy-sized "Get Smart" style MP3 players that are the distraction.
It isn't as if the rules aren't clear: "No electronic devices can be used, heard or seen during class." That is pretty clear, no? Yet, this is the most "wired" group in history--and the most distractable. Family and parent expectations have also changed. Parents are often the most demanding that their children be available 24/7, including during school. And, "wired" can almost be taken literally. I have many students (mostly male) who walk around the entire day with at least one earphone plugged into their ear. The only time it gets removed is when you ask. Sometimes, the response, even then, is "It isn't on."
Other distractions are fairly easy to deal with, at least in my classes, but the electronic devices seem to be almost addictive. Miniaturization has made them harder to detect and much harder to control. Yet, they aren't evil devices. They have their place. It's simply that attention to entertainment or communications outside the room distract from the focus of learning. There are some electronics that can be integrated in the classroom setting, instead of becoming a battleground. There are others that will simply always distract. It's just one more thing to juggle in the three-ringed circus that is a classroom.
Oh. And for the first time ever, my cell phone rang during class once this year. I promptly confiscated it from myself.
Once in class: "Please put that away." "You know the rules." "Do you want me to own that?" "OK, give me the cell phone."
"No."
"What do you mean, no? You really don't have an option here."
"No, I'm not going to give it too you."
"Fine. You can make that choice and give it to security in the office."
"OK, but can I get it back after class?"
"No, you can't. You can get it back from the office."
(Student reluctantly hands over cell phone.)
This coversation is repeated a number of times, with a number of students, over an increasing number of electronic devices. In case you didn't know, CD players are almost passé at this point. It's the tiny spy-sized "Get Smart" style MP3 players that are the distraction.
It isn't as if the rules aren't clear: "No electronic devices can be used, heard or seen during class." That is pretty clear, no? Yet, this is the most "wired" group in history--and the most distractable. Family and parent expectations have also changed. Parents are often the most demanding that their children be available 24/7, including during school. And, "wired" can almost be taken literally. I have many students (mostly male) who walk around the entire day with at least one earphone plugged into their ear. The only time it gets removed is when you ask. Sometimes, the response, even then, is "It isn't on."
Other distractions are fairly easy to deal with, at least in my classes, but the electronic devices seem to be almost addictive. Miniaturization has made them harder to detect and much harder to control. Yet, they aren't evil devices. They have their place. It's simply that attention to entertainment or communications outside the room distract from the focus of learning. There are some electronics that can be integrated in the classroom setting, instead of becoming a battleground. There are others that will simply always distract. It's just one more thing to juggle in the three-ringed circus that is a classroom.
Oh. And for the first time ever, my cell phone rang during class once this year. I promptly confiscated it from myself.
posted by curtis @ 5:00 PM
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