How effective are cell phones and laptops in class?

By Jessica Kopena Laptops and cell phones are frequently used in the classroom throughout a studen ts college career. Just because we use these devices, doesnt mean that they are allowed by the profe ssors. Professors generally have different policies based upon their personal pr eference. And a study at Concordia University proves that some students think a different way about having technology in class. According to http://phys.org/, a study led by Concordia University showed that st udents prefer an engaging lecture rather than a targeted tweet. Vivek Venkatesh a nd her team created electronic questionnaires for the students and staff at the university. 15,020 students and 2,640 instructors took part in the 120-item surv ey that looked at a persons course structure preferences, perceptions of the usef ulness of teaching methods and the level of technology knowledge of both student s and teachers. The results of the study showed that students were more appreciat ive of the literally old school approach of lectures and were less enthusiastic th an teachers about using ICTs (information and communication tools) in classes. Connie Bruins, geography professor at Northern Kentucky University, has a policy that cell phones should be out of sight during class time, she said. In my regular classroom, I brought a wall clock so no one needs to use his or her cell phone to keep track of the minutes until class is dismissed. Teachers arent the only ones that think that cell phones are a distraction and sh ouldnt be allowed in class. According to Jacqueline Lopez, a student at the Unive rsity of Cincinnati, there are no advantages when it comes to using a cell phone in class. Some disadvantages of using your cell phone in class are that you can miss import ant information the teacher is saying because you are too busy texting, the soun d or vibrations can distract other students around you and it makes the teacher think you could care less. Bruins has gotten so annoyed about students using their phones in class that she has given up on her policy. A specific instance where she has been annoyed with a student using technology in class has been when she asks a student to look up something online on their laptop. Students are so distracted muti-tasking that I h ave to call their name a couple of times, said Bruins. The incident embarrasses the student and she would rather confront the person af ter class. This has happened a couple times to students who seem to embarrass eas ily, and I would not have wanted to do that to them in front of the class, said B ruins. According to http://chronicle.com, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a p rofessor found that educating students about the negative effects that frivolous laptop use has on their performance reduces class time spent going walkabout on the Web. Diane Sieber, a professor at Boulder, noticed that 17 students in her classes us ed laptops the most. After the first test that they took, she told the students that they did 11 percent worse, on average, than their peers who did not have the ir faces in their computers as much. Lo and behold, the number of laptop-nosed students dropped to a half dozen, and t

he test scores of those who stopped using their computers during class went up, s aid Sieber in an article on chronicle.com. Lopez and Emma Littmann, a student at Capital University, have their cell phones on in class, but they only use their phone for basic reasons. Both of the women use their phones to check the time in their classes when there isnt a wall clock in the room, and they send 0-20 texts in a single class period. Lopez also keep s her phone on for emergency calls. According to http://www.ehow.com, cell phones can call their loved ones quickly in an emergency situation. Cell phones can also be used to call in bomb threats - or any other kind of threat by a student with a grudge, or no sense of decency . Cell phones are also helpful when it comes to students being nervous about walki ng alone. Students can immediately call campus security or a friend to come and walk with them. Bruins does allow laptops in her class. She allows people to use them to take no tes and sometimes look up questions. I call on those with laptops to do the on-th e-spot research. Bruins uses a computer herself so that she can post homework assignments online. Blackboard is the main computer program used for students to access their assig nments at any time. Bruins also uses email and social media so that she can send announcements to her students about what goes on in class, but she prefers stud ents to actually be in class to easily attain the material talked about in class . If Lopez was a teacher, she wouldnt allow students to use cell phones. I dont think any teacher should allow cell phones in class. As for Littmann, I would be so ups et as a teacher if a student was texting in my class. As for their policies for laptops, they would both allow laptops to be used in c lass. Lopez would allow her students to take notes during lectures, but during e very other activity in class, she would have her students put away their laptops .