Text messaging: a lecture hall epidemic?

This month a study was released that examined the in-class texting habits of students from Wilkes University. Two psychology professors created a 32 question survey to study the texting habits of this Pennsylvania University. The survey was answered by 269 students and the results were very alarming to many professors. Over 95% of participants said that they bring their phones to class and 3/4 of the survey noted that they had been distracted in class by a ringing or vibrating phone. Deborah Tindell, one of the professors who created the survey, noted “It’s becoming a bigger issue as cell phones are changing...Technology has changed pretty drastically in the past few years. … You used to have some proficient texters, and that was it. Now, almost everyone does it.”

Nine in ten students in the study said that have sent and received text messages during class. A very small portion of these students, however, believe that professors should allow unlimited texting in class as long as it does not disrupt the learning of other students.

Alarmingly, "Research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that half of teenagers surveyed send 1,500 text messages a month, and one-third of survey respondents send 100 texts every day, or 3,000 per month."

Another professor at the University argued that students who text frequently in class should automatically receive failing grades in the class despite their scores on papers and tests.

I have very mixed feelings about this article. On one hand, it can be very frustrating when there is a person sitting next to me in class who is texting profusely on a phone with loud clicking buttons that vibrates or makes a noise every time they receive a text. This person is unlikely to be paying attention to the professor and is becoming an obvious distraction to people around them. Conversely, many students check their phones once or twice a class and type short responses and then put their phone away. Oftentimes, this can be done without creating a distraction or detracting the student from what is going on during class. I am very guilty of the later habit, however, I feel as though this behavior is becoming a normalized part of our culture. Outside of class, students are connected to their friends 24/7 via text messaging and Facebook. For example, my best friend goes to school in Carbondale but I talk to her nearly all day using text messaging, Facebook posts and Skype. When we are so connected to others using cellular devices at all times, it seems nearly impractical to not respond to them just because we are in class. I never respond to my friends to be rude to my classmates or because I am bored in the class, but rather because I am so used to responding and people in our generation typically expect an immediate response when they sent a text message.

When I look at this topic from the perspective of a future educator, I can see how this behavior would be undeniably frustrating. I imagine that it is also very distracting for professors to look into their crowd of students and see them all ignoring the lecture and texting instead. I completely disagree with the professor who strongly believed that students who text deserve a failing grade automatically. I feel as though there are better ways to handle the situation than throwing and "F" at the student. The professor could easily pull the student aside and ask them to cease their in- class texting. If the student is not compliant, then the professor can enforce more serious consequences. The survey even mentioned that if professors set a "no texting" rule in their syllabus during the first class period, students will be extremely respectful of the professors wishes. Personally, when I know that a professor will not tolerate texting, I do not look at my phone for the entire period. When a professor does not set this president, however, most students do not feel as though they are restricted.

Overall, I think that very brief texting in class is not a serious issues. Sometimes there might be an important situation that a student needs to deal with in the moment. However, texting can get very out of hand when students spend their entire class period texting, are not paying attention to the professor and are distracting other students.

One Professor's Rant: Instant Viral Sensation

Mark Talbert, a professor at Cornell University, had a bit of an outburst during one of his lecture classes. A student was yawning - an "overly loud yawn", as Talbert puts it - and he finally had enough. He began asking the class who yawned, and when no one stood up, he asked the other students to identify who was disturbing the class. The video of the rant lasts for almost 3 minutes, and during this time he tells his students that if he hears another of the yawns, the student should "get up and walk the hell out." He also warns his students, "Don't push me to this point again."

Not only is this highly inappropriate, Talbert should have realized that almost every student has a cell phone with them (and on) during classes; especially lecture classes with over 200 people in them. Asking students to leave if they need to yawn is one thing; yelling at the entire class and cursing is definitely another. I watched the video and felt really bad for the students; it was terribly awkward and Talbert was frightening. And to threaten students? While I'm sure he didn't actually mean to threaten them, that is exactly what "Don't push me to this point again" sounds like. This video is just another testament to the fact that everyone - teachers and students alike - need to be careful of what is said in public. One never knows when he is being recorded.

Spill: anonymously share you problems and recieve help from other students

Resources for college students needing help with personal problems is typically available through professional counseling on campus. However, a lot of students don't take advantages of these services. 82% cite that embarrassment was the number one factor as to why they haven't utilized counseling services before. A new website available on 10 campuses nationwide (thus far) allows students to ask other students for advice and help anonymously. Students post their personal problems on "Spill" and receive responses from trained student supporters within 24 hours. If the school subscribes to the service, any student with a .edu e-mail address can "spill". Each Spill is responded to by 4-6 student volunteers that are trained in effective listening and writing empathetic responses. This allows the spiller to see different perspectives on their problem that might be able to help them more.

This new service will help both students and the schools alike. This service will help schools see what is really bothering their students and can aid in suicide prevention, risk mitigation, see suggestions for improvements in the school, and can boost retention rates. It also collects the data from all the schools and allows the school to see where students are having the most problems within their own institution and compared to the other subscribers to the service. It's great because it's non-threatening to students who are receiving help and allows the schools to see where help is needed.

Educational Technology Can Lower Costs

On November 17th, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated that schools are going to need to deal with their lower costs by increasing productivity; they're going to have to do more with less, essentially. Duncan stated that schools will probably have lower budgets for a long time, so they need to learn how to run effectively with less money. Duncan suggested possibly using more online texts, combining bus routes, and reducing personnel in order to deal with the lower budgets. He did acknowledge that becoming more tech-savvy may cost more money in teh short-term, but that it will be worth it in the long-term. I also really appreciate that he said that schools should consider having slightly larger class sizes instead of just automatically cutting music or art. I feel like cutting the arts is the easiest alternative for most schools, rather than the best alternative. The arts are really beneficial, so I am grateful that Duncan brought up that having a few extra kids per class may be less harmful than elminating the arts program.

Social Media Safeguard

Webroot has created a downloadable program that will have college students thanking them forever. Social Media Sobriety Test is a new online application that allows someone to choose a social networking site and the hours they wish to have a little bit of trouble logging on. For example, a person could choose Facebook and/or Twitter and the hours of 1-4 am. In order to log on to that site during this time frame, they would need to pass a series of tests that would be really difficult for someone who was inebriated. For all of those people who have a bad habit of drunk-Facebooking or drunk-tweeting, this could very well save them from a future job loss.
It is becoming common practice for employers to check candidate's Facebooks to see what kind of person he or she is. I went to see Lindsay Pollack speak last year, and she had said that employers call it "checking on [the candidate's] judgment." With job markets as competitive as they are, employers need to use every resource they have, which means that people need to start watching their social media outlets to ensure that they never have any problems. I feel that the Social Media Sobriety Test can be an easy way to help make sure that social media sites stay clear of all posts that could be deemed "bad judgment calls."

Smartphone Document Editing

Apparently Google docs has implemented a feature that allows smartphone users to edit entire documents from their phone. There are a lot of limitations and requirements that are needed in order for it to run properly, but honestly, I don't understand why one would want to. I understand the use of a smartphone in order to check one's e-mail etc and maybe shoot a quick answer back. However, to edit or compose and entire document on one's phone just seems a little silly to me. I have trouble grasping why this would be beneficial to have. As a country, we are way more connected and dependent on technology as a part of our everyday lives and we have more of a tendency to be workoholics than most other places. I think that having the option to edit documents in addition to all the other features on a smartphone could make that gap even greater. I'm all for technology progression, but sometimes I feel like certain advancements go to far.

Technology helping to redefine disability

Students with disabilities have long been unable to express their knowledge or gain new knowledge in traditional classrooms. Teachers committed to enabling these students have searched for ways to assist and empower them, and it looks like there's finally a way. According to Milton Chen, the senior fellow and director emeritus at the George Lucas Educational Foundation, rapid advancements in technology are helping to redefine ability and disability, with assistive technology devices enabling students with disabilities. For example, the Adaptive Captioning Through Interactive Video (ACTIV 2.0) technology can be used to make academic content accessible to learning disabled students through features such as alternative narration; regular, highlighted text; picture/symbol-based captions; verbal/visual cuing; interactive hyperlinks; and built-in quizzes. Other technologies, such as Signing Avatar, which is a software that can be used with 3D science and math dictionaries to help deaf or hearing impaired students, and Big Words, which is a software that can be used to teach polysyllabic words to students with disabilities, are also in the forefront of this movement towards technology for disabled students. John Kemp of Powers Pyle Sutter and Verville says that "giving students with disabilities more choice in how they would like to learn and which tools they would like to use in their learning process can go a long way in motivating them," which can often make all the difference in the classroom. Teachers should not only be aware of the possibilities of technology for learning disabled students, but should constantly be investigating and seeking it. One great resource is NCTI's TechMatrix, which provides free information on assistive technology for students with disabilities as well as for ELL students. I don't know how to add a second link, so here's the url for that: http://www.techmatrix.org/