The discussion about computers in the classroom has provoked a lot of thought and discussion. A former student disagreed strongly with my position on the subject, which generated a long discussion thread on my Facebook page. I talked to classes about the issue, as well as some trusted colleagues. The discussion continues to evolve, but let me tell you a little about where it stands right now.
The most important thing I learned for the discussion with my former student was that she wants to know up front, before the class starts, what kind of a classroom the teacher runs. She thinks it’s unfair that she has to register for the course and pay her money sight unseen, and then she can’t get a refund if the class isn’t what she wants. I see her point there. Classes vary widely in terms of method. Some teachers proscribe the use of personal electronic devices, some tolerate them grudgingly, and some encourage them. But classes also vary widely in a lot of ways. Some are lecture based, some are discussion based, some are experiential. Is the College to advertise every professorial quirk, every tendency, every change? (“Professor Gray occasionally tells the same anecdote twice to the same class in the same semester. He also makes frequent mawkish reference to his children. Those who are offended by references to hunting and fishing are advised to avoid his classes.”)
I don’t know the answer for all of this. But right now, a see a big split in the classroom: those who want to use electronic devices during class, and those who are offended by the use of electronic devices in the classroom.
Some might be tempted to jump to the conclusion that it’s older “non-traditional” students who are bothered by surfing, texting, Facebooking in class, and that younger “traditional college-age” students are pro-electronics. T’ain’t necessarily so. When I took this discussion to the classroom, I learned some surprising things.
The most interesting discussion was in a small class (about seven students) that is a really good class. All members of the class participate, and the discussions are… animated is a mild word. Sometimes everybody is talking at once and I have to shout to be heard. I love the class because it’s a free-for-all, and exciting things happen. When I opened the subject of electronic devices in class all hell broke loose. Turns out I have one student in that class who is devoted to her electronic devices, especially her Smartphone, and is a “multi-tasker” i.e. a person who wants to be on her phone texting and surfing during class. I also have student who refuses to have a cell phone because she believes that cell phones and other technologies are making humans stupider and stupider. Both students are traditional college age students.
The rest of the students fall in the middle: those who own and use technology, but also have questions about where the technology path leads. The most interesting thing I learned from this discussion is that the main reason students are bothered by smartphone use in class is that they feel it is rude to the instructor, and rudeness upsets them, so this anxiety disrupts their learning. The student who loves to surf during class COULD NOT understand how this could be true. She kept repeating that her activity only involved HER, and that her actions could not affect others. No matter how many ways it was explained to her, she could not understand it.
This discussion led me to wonder if there is a significant split in the students I see in my classroom. If this split exists, then I would call it the plugged in vs. the unplugged; those who want to be involved with electronic devices during class, and those who think electronic device use during class is disruptive and a negative influence on learning. Note that it doesn’t necessarily follow that those who find electronic devices used during class disruptive are not adept users of these technologies. Nor does it follow that those who surf during class are the most proficient at using technology to enhance learning.
Thinking about this classroom split made me wonder if it would be useful to teach two different ways to two different groups. What if I could create two different kinds of classrooms, one for the plugged in and one for the unplugged? What if the student could know before signing up for the class what kind of a class he or she was getting? And could I do it? I know I can teach in the unplugged classroom, but how would the plugged classroom work?
I decided to run an experiment. I’ll let you know the results in the next post.
