Students texting in class

[JPINFV]

So you're bothered by some light, and movement so much that it's distracting but you are saying you can run a chaotic scene with strobe lights flashing and lot more movement??
.

...because learning and implementing are two different things.

 

[usalsfyre]

As an educator, as long as your not being disruptive I don't care. I'm there to present the material and do my best to ensure your understanding. If you choose not to be engaged, that's your business. As I frequently engage the classroom, be aware you now have a bullseye on you for getting asked questions.

 

[Handsome Robb]

As I frequently engage the classroom, be aware you now have a bullseye on you for getting asked questions.

This makes me smile.

Idk why but I always find it amusing when an instructor asks someone a question who isn't paying any sort of attention.

 

[bstone]

This was obviously staged, but it's funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ5Zahh9akI&feature=g-vrec

 

[JPINFV]

^
Of course, the problem is that you never know who may be in your class...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7lXG792doQ&feature=related




That video also shows the importance of preplanning...

 

[Smash]

I lecture to large groups (150+) and tutor small groups of 10-20. I probably don't notice what goes on in the lecture theatre most of the time as there is no way I can focus on the behaviour of that many people. Obviously in the small groups, I do notice. If someone lets me know they need to take a call or something, that is fine.

However, even in the large halls, it can indeed be distracting, if not to me, then to the students around the person. More than that, disrespectful to me and the other students to be continually disturbing everyone, therefore if I become aware of it, it becomes a problem. My lectures are only typically 1-2 hours; your social life can be put on hold for that long.

 

[EMRRx]

Addressing a phone during lecuture is disruptive. A good analogy is like trying to watch a good movie at the theater, and someone opens their phone to check a message, and, or respond. Your eyes immediately leave the picture and you focus on the phone disruption over and over again. Same thing applies during class. It is not something you can ignore, it breaks your concentration even if you do not realize it.

I agree with the rules inforced during my College Fire Academy. Phones are placed in your locker. You can check them, and respond if necessary during your breaks or between classes. Your phone is never seen or heard during class. NO EXCEPTIONS. If an emergency, family, or friends are welcome to call the school phone and ask to speak with the student.

 

[JPINFV]

So, for the "phones are distracting" crowd, do you allow laptops to be used during class to follow along with the lecture and to take notes with?

 

[DesertMedic66]

So, for the "phones are distracting" crowd, do you allow laptops to be used during class to follow along with the lecture and to take notes with?

As for the EMT class I am a skills instructor for I've never seen a student being a laptop to class. If they need to take notes they can write it down with a good old pen and paper.

 

[JPINFV]

Do you make your lecture slides available before class? Wouldn't being able to take slides in powerpoint be better than wasting a ton of paper and ink?

Of course I'm used to 100 slides being covered in 4 hours or less fairly often.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Do you make your lecture slides available before class? Wouldn't being able to take slides in powerpoint be better than wasting a ton of paper and ink?

Of course I'm used to 100 slides being covered in 4 hours or less fairly often.

The main instructor of the class e-mails all the slides and material he will be covering a day or two before he goes over the material.

But he is also a strong believer that it is easy to remember information if you have to write it down yourself.

 

[Smash]

I do everything I can to avoid using powerpoint, however what slides I do use are made available after the lecture. There is also a big difference between using a computer to take notes and texting/talking to your friends.

 

[JPINFV]

I do everything I can to avoid using powerpoint, however what slides I do use are made available after the lecture. There is also a big difference between using a computer to take notes and texting/talking to your friends.

If the issue is the glow, then yea... the computer glows much brighter than a phone, or is this not about the student distracting other students?

 

[JPINFV]

The main instructor of the class e-mails all the slides and material he will be covering a day or two before he goes over the material.

But he is also a strong believer that it is easy to remember information if you have to write it down yourself.

Depending on how the lectures and slides are set up, that could be easier said than done.

 

[lightsandsirens5]

Sasha, as an instructor, i'm distracted when students are texting... I like students to be engaged-- and for whatever reason, it throws me off when students are focused on the light at their crotch. Call it jealousy their not talking with me if you'd like.

Same here. I require all my students to have their phone on silent or OFF! I will often pop a question on students I see texting as well. 95% of the time, they can't answer it. So I kind of use it as a little unspoken object lesson for everyone.

I'm not teaching just to teach or make money. I am teaching so that others may actually LEARN.

 

[Smash]

Yes, distraction is part of it. A constantly glowing screen is less annoying and distracting than an intermittently buzzing phone and talking. Most people I see using a computer to tak notes have the screen set at a low level as the theatre is dark anyway.

And, as I have already stated, it is also about showing some respect towards the lecturer and the other students. If your writing skills are so poor that you need a computer to take notes, so be it, we can make allowances. If you are so disinterested in the lecturer, or have so little respect for your fellow students that you are talking or texting throughout the lesson, then you may as well not be there as you are disrupting the learning experience for everyone else.

 

[JPINFV]

If your writing skills are so poor that you need a computer to take notes, so be it, we can make allowances. If you are so disinterested in the lecturer, or have so little respect for your fellow students that you are talking or texting throughout the lesson, then you may as well not be there as you are disrupting the learning experience for everyone else.

1. Yes, because there isn't an issue about 100 page power point presentation with colored backgrounds. Have you ever accidentally printed off even a 30 page presentation where the professor decided to go with black background on white text? After going through a brand new ink cartridge because of that I do my best to avoid printing them out. Not to mention the cost (both monetary and ecological) of printing out hundreds of slides just to throw them away two weeks later after the exam. Oh, and changing white on black to black on white isn't exactly a quick feat on numerous page presentations, especially when you have to start changing more than just text.

I like the appearance of white on black for the LCD projector. However, how about a little respect by releasing slides that are black on white without any sort of cutesy background or animations where pictures end up on top of pictures? How about a little respect by producing an actual primer instead of a primer that reads like notes a student took?

2. There's a reason most medical students would rather download the lecture recording and play at 2x speed than sit in a lecture for 4 hours straight. Oh, but lectures are about "respect" and not imparting knowledge in the best manner for the student. Where's the "respect" in requiring mandatory attendance of students who don't necessarily learn the best by listening to a professor speak extra slow while reading off lecture slides verbatim?

I love it when respect is treated as a one way street, and then lecturers wonder why no one "respects" them by paying attention.

3. You know, it's strange. I've never been bothered by someone else pulling out a phone and texting (provided it was on silent), or screwing around on a computer. Or heck, even quietly excusing themselves from a lecture hall when they were in the back or near an aisle.

Of course I also can't remember ever being in a lecture hall that needed to be pitch black, or really anything more than slightly dimmed, for a LCD projector to work properly. A computer screen in a properly set up lecture hall isn't anything close to, say, a computer screen in a movie theater.

 

[Smash]

1. Yes, because there isn't an issue about 100 page power point presentation with colored backgrounds. Have you ever accidentally printed off even a 30 page presentation where the professor decided to go with black background on white text? After going through a brand new ink cartridge because of that I do my best to avoid printing them out. Not to mention the cost (both monetary and ecological) of printing out hundreds of slides just to throw them away two weeks later after the exam. Oh, and changing white on black to black on white isn't exactly a quick feat on numerous page presentations, especially when you have to start changing more than just text.

I do everything I can to avoid using powerpoint, however what slides I do use are made available after the lecture.

I like the appearance of white on black for the LCD projector. However, how about a little respect by releasing slides that are black on white without any sort of cutesy background or animations where pictures end up on top of pictures? How about a little respect by producing an actual primer instead of a primer that reads like notes a student took?

Been to any of my lectures? Have any idea how I format my lectures or my slides? Strawman much?

2. There's a reason most medical students would rather download the lecture recording and play at 2x speed than sit in a lecture for 4 hours straight.

My lectures are only typically 1-2 hours

Oh, but lectures are about "respect" and not imparting knowledge in the best manner for the student. Where's the "respect" in requiring mandatory attendance of students who don't necessarily learn the best by listening to a professor speak extra slow while reading off lecture slides verbatim?

I do everything I can to avoid using powerpoint, however what slides I do use are made available after the lecture

you need a computer to take notes, so be it, we can make allowances.

My lectures (as with all the lectures) are also video recorded and converted to MP3s.

I love it when respect is treated as a one way street, and then lecturers wonder why no one "respects" them by paying attention.

I pay the students the respect of turning up on my days off, often without pay, to give them the benefit of what little knowledge and experience I can profess to hold. I don't think it too great an imposition upon them to put their social life on hold for the short time I am with them, or at least not distract me or their fellow students whilst partaking of extra-curricular activities.. If that is disrespectful, so be it, I won't lose any sleep over that.

[

3. You know, it's strange. I've never been bothered by someone else pulling out a phone and texting (provided it was on silent), or screwing around on a computer. Or heck, even quietly excusing themselves from a lecture hall when they were in the back or near an aisle.

Mostly, nor have I:

I probably don't notice what goes on in the lecture theatre most of the time

However, the OP asked:

How do you feel about students texting away in class? Or taking frequent cell phone calls by leaving the classroom?

Of course I also can't remember ever being in a lecture hall that needed to be pitch black, or really anything more than slightly dimmed, for a LCD projector to work properly. A computer screen in a properly set up lecture hall isn't anything close to, say, a computer screen in a movie theater.

No, it isn't:

Most people I see using a computer to take notes have the screen set at a low level as the theatre is dark anyway

My error, I should have said "darkened" as opposed to "dark". Mea culpa.

We aren't talking about taking notes in a lecture, we are talking about people texting or taking frequent phone calls.

I don't know what has got your goat JPINFV, but you are better than this.

 

[JPINFV]

I don't know what has got your goat JPINFV, but you are better than this.

Here's my issue. I agree that taking constant phone calls can cause an issue. Text messages? Not so much. I view it in the same light as messaging through G Chat or Facebook, or what have you. If it's not making any sound, there should be little issue.

So, lets' start over.

We're both taking our experiences as instructor and student respectively and extrapolating it. Additionally, I did take the implication that the primary reason why notes are taken on a computer is because of poor hand writing personally. Also, to clarify, it wasn't the "your" (I generally treat "you" as being generic, not directed at anyone specific, in situations like this) that I took personally, but the overall message. Yea, my hand writing is terrible, however I don't have a problem decrypting my handwriting. What's more important to me is not having to print out and assemble a couple hundred pages of slides, many of which have dubious quality in the sense of note taking. I'm not much of a tree huger, but if I can be more efficient, I'll be more efficient, and electronic note taking allows that.

In my experience, using my learning style, live lectures are more often than not a waste of time given how they are designed, the quality of the lecturer (let's speak real slow and read off the slides verbatim), and the fact that my attention span is only about 30-40 minutes and watching recordings allows me to speed up the video to obtain a watchable speed, as well as pause, rewind, and fast forward through breaks at will. The only reason I attend lectures is because of the quiz at the start and the potential for a pop quiz at the end. Besides that, the 4 hours a day of lecture is mostly a waste of time. Considering that probably about 1/3 of the class would attend if it wasn't for the threat of quizzes, instead opting to watch lecture recordings, I don't feel that I'm alone with this assessment or learning style.

Similarly, in my experience, lecturers often talk about their 1 or 2 hours, but don't realize (or, and hopefully not, don't care) that the student may have several more hours in a row. Your two hours may just be a part of a 7-8 hours of lecture for the students. When I'm sitting down for 7-8 hours almost straight (even with the 5-10 minute breaks every hour and an hour lunch), there's still a lot of information being imparted of varying qualities, and I'm not going to be very receptive to someone saying "Well, I'm only 2 hours," especially when, in my case (your money will vary), I'm paying $40-50k a year. In my case, if a lecturer isn't getting paid, then I'm sorry they're getting screwed, but at that cost I do expect quality professors that lecture well and can be understood. Similarly, I don't consider a professor to be on their time off, since I expect that at least part of my tuition is going to pay professors, hence making this a job and not a day off. If one of your employees or coworkers came in and expected an easier time because they worked on a day off from their other job, how would you respond?

Finally, in my experience, most classrooms set up for projectors and most lecture halls are set up so that the lights can be varied by zone. In general, the lights over the stage will be darker with the amount of light rapidly increasing until fully on near the back. Overall, I'd say the lights are slightly dimmed moreso than dark or darkened. Granted, this is a bit of a semantics argument, but given how lights are set up, I can understand how some rooms would honestly need to be dark to properly use a projector. It's just that the last time I've been in someplace similar to that would have had to been almost a decade ago in high school. So I'm not trying to play semantics for the sake of playing semantics.

In general, I haven't noticed laptops giving off any appreciable glow to be distracted by. Similarly, unless it's something like World Cup soccer (there's a picture from last year of 4-5 computers in different rows streaming a game) where I choose to be distracted, I'm not distracted from the content on another person's computer. Similarly, given the same lighting situation, cell phones don't give off any appreciable glow.

Unfortunately, at least in medical school, "respect" and "professionalism" are more often thrown about as, "You did something that made someone else mad, but we can't actually explain why what you did was wrong, so we're just going to call it unprofessional or disrespectful."

 

[Dwindlin]

Couldn't agree with JP more. Thankfully my school doesn't do pop quizzes, daily quizzes, or have an attendance policy.