Professor Of New Media Bans Technology Use In Class

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I graduated from college long before this was an issue so I want to know what do you guys think of a professor that bans the use of tech in his class?

I teach theory and practice of social media at NYU, and am an advocate and activist for the free culture movement, so I’m a pretty unlikely candidate for internet censor, but I have just asked the students in my fall seminar to refrain from using laptops, tablets, and phones in class.
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This is news-worthy? When I was in school if you had stuff out that wasn't class-related it was confiscated until the end of the class, no press release necessary.
 
Does this professor also explicitly require students to attend class and sit in their seats as long as we're covering the "things you should've learned in kindergarten" portion of the curriculum?

Yeah, sorry about the double post, would've preferred to edit...
 
His class, his rules. I don't see a problem with it. Get a pen and some paper and take notes like the good old days. You know like ten years ago.
 
I'm sure it will produce the desired results of people actually focusing, but kinda fails to train people to focus in the real world. You wouldn't pull out your cellphone/laptop and start surfing facebook while training on the job, so why would you during class? Because you feel you can get away with it in one place and not the other. If someone is screwing around at work the problem will sort itself out and they will be fired. So if someone wants to screw around in class, let them fail.
 
mecra said:
some actual learning might happen in the class.
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As I see it the problem arises from most classes use of the curve.

My gut instinct is to say "in college students are paying for their own education, if they want to slack off and text and browse the internet during class, that's their choice", problem is because of curves, this drags down the entire educational level.

If professors would refrain from using curves, and instead grade straight off of actual results, then I am fine with letting students pay as little or as much attention as they want in class. Then they will only be hurting themselves.
 
People are becoming more and more oblivious to the appropriate use of cell phones. One recent example, which comes to mind, I went to a concert recently and some jackass was using his cell phone while using the urinal right beside me. Can a call really not wait until you have finished your business?
 
Zarathustra[H];1041131275 said:
As I see it the problem arises from most classes use of the curve.

My gut instinct is to say "in college students are paying for their own education, if they want to slack off and text and browse the internet during class, that's their choice", problem is because of curves, this drags down the entire educational level.

If professors would refrain from using curves, and instead grade straight off of actual results, then I am fine with letting students pay as little or as much attention as they want in class. Then they will only be hurting themselves.
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They use curves in college? I thought that stopped in grade school. I didn't have a curve in any of my college classes.
 
I can understand wanting students to focus. That said if note taking is beneficial in the class then not permitting the use of any technology I think becomes counter productive.
 
Has anyone actually read the article? You might note this:

The final realization — the one that firmly tipped me over into the “No devices in class” camp — was this: screens generate distraction in a manner akin to second-hand smoke. A paper with the blunt title Laptop Multitasking Hinders Classroom Learning for Both Users and Nearby Peers says it all:

We found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower on a test compared to those who were not. The results demonstrate that multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content.
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I really think that says it all.
 
Biznatch said:
They use curves in college? I thought that stopped in grade school. I didn't have a curve in any of my college classes.
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At my school it was left up to the instructor. Some did, some didn't. Some folded under pressure when an entire class did so poorly that they didn't want to look like a poor instructor.

I'd imagine this has only gotten worse since. I graduated in 2003. At that point, I never saw a laptop in class, and most people didn't even use cellphones.

Now with added distractions, It wouldn't surprise me if overall results have gone way down, (despite morons shooting for last ditch efforts to make up for it by abusing ritalin), forcing instructors to either look like they have failed (due to something that is entirely the students fault) or to curve the class, and thus dilute the value of higher education...

I never had a curve UNTIL i hit college, btw.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041131275 said:
My gut instinct is to say "in college students are paying for their own education, if they want to slack off and text and browse the internet during class, that's their choice", problem is because of curves, this drags down the entire educational level.

If professors would refrain from using curves, and instead grade straight off of actual results, then I am fine with letting students pay as little or as much attention as they want in class. Then they will only be hurting themselves.
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My thoughts exactly.
 
Draax said:
People are becoming more and more oblivious to the appropriate use of cell phones. One recent example, which comes to mind, I went to a concert recently and some jackass was using his cell phone while using the urinal right beside me. Can a call really not wait until you have finished your business?
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I often take calls while taking a poop. So much so that as a youth I once asked for a phone next to the toilet for Christmas.
 
I support it 100%.

Having gone to college later in life after my military career and 4 years of work (went to college at 27), I knew I was there to learn what I was paying for, to get my degree and get back into the workforce, so I was very engaged at all times and very rarely used my laptop except for class work or homework (if I already knew the subject).

Comparatively there were VERY few 18 year olds in my classes who felt the same way, and that was made obvious by the fact that most of them were surfing Facebook, playing games or shopping on their laptops in the lectures.

I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't make more sense to have kids come outta high school, go to work for several years (4-6) and then go to college. I think having that extra bit of maturity, and a determination to know what they want to do, and more importantly what they don't want to do, would really help them in their college years.
 
Multi-tasking is cognitively exhausting — when we do it by choice, being asked to stop can come as a welcome change.
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The assumption here is that students are actually "Multi-tasking" and not simply tuning out the professor. For my classes I don't give a big whoop if someone falls asleep, texts, or uses their laptop to look at the latest funny cat meme, if they want to make the adult decision that they can just as easily get the information from the internet than that is their choice. Hell I even radically changed my assignment policy where there are no assignments that are mandatory, however their grade is based off the first 1000 points of assignments they turn in. As I tell them on the first day, I'll give you enough rope to hang yourself, but if you make good decisions to not slack off you should do just fine. And I see students who hear it as "I don't have to do any work?? Alright!!!" and they end up failing, and others who while confused they understand if they're feeling sick one day, or completely don't know the material for whatever reason it's not going to completely crush their grade.

Now this guy's class is probably a lot more interactive with students than mine is, it sounds like more of a discussion class than a lecture type class, so his policy sounds useful for the students.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041131331 said:
So we have you to thank for those "fecal matter on phones" statistics :p
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Those statistics don't bug me as much as the ones about tooth brushes which normally are in close proximity to the crapper.
 
sfsuphysics said:
The assumption here is that students are actually "Multi-tasking" and not simply tuning out the professor.
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That, and the fact that the best we as humans can hope to do is approximate multitasking, by time sharing, at which point each "slice" has so much setup time to make any human multitasking more or less useless.

"People can't multitask very well, and when people say they can, they're deluding themselves," said neuroscientist Earl Miller. And, he said, "The brain is very good at deluding itself."

Funnily other studies have shown that those who think they are the best at multitasking, actually are the worst at it :p

So, lets bury the multitasking myth.

If you are human, you simply can't do it. No exceptions. And the better you think you are at it, the worse you actually are.
 
heatlesssun said:
I can understand wanting students to focus. That said if note taking is beneficial in the class then not permitting the use of any technology I think becomes counter productive.
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Am I the only person that ever took notes with pen and paper? :eek:
 
Kelby said:
Am I the only person that ever took notes with pen and paper? :eek:
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No. I did as an undergrad, tried typing them as a grad student, and went back to pen and paper. I encourage my students to use pen and paper as well, and cater my lecture towards pen and paper note takers.

One consideration is that professors also don't always know how to use technology in the classroom. I have colleagues who "wall of text" each slide of a lecture and just read off of these terrible slides. I don't blame students for "multitasking" on Facebook when that happens. It's on the professor to create a lecture that's engaging and complements the readings, labs, discussions, etc. that go with the lecture. I do that with diagrams, graphs, pictures, and such from the primary literature that illustrate the points I'm trying to make. I have it easy, though, in that I only teach graduate and professional students who are already into the content. But it worked when I was a TA teaching freshman, too.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041131438 said:
That, and the fact that the best we as humans can hope to do is approximate multitasking, by time sharing, at which point each "slice" has so much setup time to make any human multitasking more or less useless.

"People can't multitask very well, and when people say they can, they're deluding themselves," said neuroscientist Earl Miller. And, he said, "The brain is very good at deluding itself."

Funnily other studies have shown that those who think they are the best at multitasking, actually are the worst at it :p

So, lets bury the multitasking myth.

If you are human, you simply can't do it. No exceptions. And the better you think you are at it, the worse you actually are.
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This is true %100..
What one can do at best is cycle tasks, and cycle attention to those. I haven't timed my self, but I think switch and re-focus at best in about 30seconds (I am sometimes required to cycle different tasks in fairly rapid succession at my workplace).. honestly, the fastest I think I can go, I cant sustain.. in short order mistakes start if I keep pressing.
 
Kelby said:
Am I the only person that ever took notes with pen and paper? :eek:
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I still take all my notes with pen and paper.

There are things computers are good for, but IMHO, taking class notes on a computer is WAY WAY worse than just writing them by hand.

(as long as you can read your own hand writing, which judging from what I have seen from many millenials, is NOT a given : p
 
Gigantopithecus said:
Dunning-Kruger Effect.
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The more you know, the less certain you become.

I kind of like the explanation that there are no black and white answers, and the more you learn, the more you realize this is true, more than the social/psychological explanation in the Dunning-Kruger effect.

In reality, there is probably a bit of both going on.
 
LOCO LAPTOP said:
Problem, I type faster then I can write. Lol.
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I agree. So can I. However, the very process of writing by hand has secondary benefits in terms of cognitive skills. Did a fun thing in a psych class once. We did a double blind test where people either wrote or typed something they were being told. An hour later they were asked to recall what was said and there was a marked improvement with the people who "physically wrote". However, that was ten years ago and I would like to see the study done again.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041131668 said:
I still take all my notes with pen and paper.

There are things computers are good for, but IMHO, taking class notes on a computer is WAY WAY worse than just writing them by hand.

(as long as you can read your own hand writing, which judging from what I have seen from many millenials, is NOT a given : p
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I took a whopping zero notes in college.. I can't 'listen to understand' if I am taking notes.. I can 'hear' and take notes, but I can't, you know, listen and try to understand something while taking notes.
Never really had a 'notebook'.. a scribble here and there on what I needed to read, that's about it.
Funny, only one professor (analytical chemistry) noticed and asked me about it.
 
Betaboy1983 said:
My thoughts exactly.
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I don't agree.

Read the part about second hand smoke which makes complete sense to me. I don't wish to see my son or daughter struggle because of someone watching youtube on their laptop.

Should they be able to ignore it? Sure, but where do you draw the line between acceptable distractions and providing an environment conducive to learning?
 
I take all my notes on computing devices, either phone or computer. I can't imagine going back. First lets talk about pen and paper, its a joke, NOONE can take notes as fast as they could on a laptop if they actually know how to type. Its physically impossible to out run a typist by hand. The real question is if people really buy into all this shit about multitasking not being possible then why in the hell is anyone required to take notes in class? Note taking itself is multi tasking and distracting. How many times do you see people who are trying to write a note down and falling behind only to give up and skip ahead to catch up. Ask yourself did they really absorb what was being said or pointed out while they were frantically trying to write it all down? Notes in every class should be provided to the student and the only note taking you should have to do is follow along and write in clarification or corrections. All of this should be doable on electronic devices. The best way I every learned was just to sit and listen. Notes are supposed to be something you go back to and use to refresh your memory, something the teacher can provide. If notes were really all you needed to learn you could write them down and then throw them out right after the class.

As for distractions, I have been to many classes and seminars, lol I can probably count on my hand in the hundreds to thousands I have been to how many times the front row was full. If you are distracted easily, go sit in the many open seats in the front row, there problem solved you cant see anyone now.
 
The ultimate solution to note taking is a Surface Pro + OneNote. It does everything you could ask of a notebook. Type, hand write (w/optional conversion to text), draw diagrams, take pictures, annotate pictures/diagrams, tag subjects. Then you can search all your notes in seconds.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041131438 said:
That, and the fact that the best we as humans can hope to do is approximate multitasking, by time sharing, at which point each "slice" has so much setup time to make any human multitasking more or less useless.

"People can't multitask very well, and when people say they can, they're deluding themselves," said neuroscientist Earl Miller. And, he said, "The brain is very good at deluding itself."

Funnily other studies have shown that those who think they are the best at multitasking, actually are the worst at it :p

So, lets bury the multitasking myth.

If you are human, you simply can't do it. No exceptions. And the better you think you are at it, the worse you actually are.
Click to expand...

Unless you're a chef.
 
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