{"id":13,"date":"2010-12-14T22:53:20","date_gmt":"2010-12-15T02:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.vassar.edu\/cat\/?p=13"},"modified":"2010-12-15T15:42:32","modified_gmt":"2010-12-15T19:42:32","slug":"notes-from-1130-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/?p=13","title":{"rendered":"Notes from 11\/30 panel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technology at Vassar: What are we doing in the classroom?
\nStudent-faculty panel, November 30, 2010
\nSponsored by Committee on Academic Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leonard Nevarez: Today\u2019s topic, the laptops, iPhones, iPads, smart phones, and other personal technologies that students bring into the classroom, falls outside the jurisdiction of the Committee on Academic Technologies (CAT).\u00a0 There are lots of values to the ways students use these technologies in the classroom; there are also lots of concerns.\u00a0 It\u2019s not CAT\u2019s authority to make legislation on this issue, but we wanted to start a college-wide conversation on it.\u00a0 We have five panelists today:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Kelsey Forest: Program intern (\u201911) in Media Studies; employee at Media Cloisters for two years.<\/li>\n
  2. Cordelia McGee-Tubb: Computer Science major (\u201911); Misc editorialist and campus blogger.<\/li>\n
  3. Marie Dugo: Media Studies major (\u201911) and social media editor at Misc.<\/li>\n
  4. Adam Newman: writing tutor at Writing Center; founding member of ACCESS (student committee on disabilities and access to learning); board member of Committee on Disabilities Issues.<\/li>\n
  5. Andrew Tallon: Art History faculty.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    PANEL PRESENTATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Kelsey Forest: I want to talk about the \u201cmyth of student distraction.\u201d\u00a0 Not that students don\u2019t distract themselves w\/technology, but there\u2019s an assumption that if student is on a laptop or cell phone, that they\u2019re doing something personal and unrelated to class.\u00a0 Pens and notebooks are also personal technologies; what makes them acceptable is that students have learned how to use them for academic purposes.<\/p>\n

    My research indicates that four colleges (Abilene Christian University, University of Missouri School of Journalism, University of Florida College of Pharmacy, University of Utah) already incorporate iPhone technology into how the class is taught.\u00a0 For instance, the \u201chand-raising technology\u201d at University of Utah; students can make comment on the iPhone and press the \u201craise their hand\u201d button to pass it onto the professor.\u00a0 Students are guided and trained in how to use the technology in ways that expand the classroom.<\/p>\n

    Cordelia McGee-Tubb: I want to talk about how computers in the classroom are distracting.\u00a0 I personally don\u2019t bring my laptop to class because I know I will check my e-mail, Facebook, etc.\u00a0 So instead I watch other students use their computers, which is equally distracting.\u00a0 They\u2019ll open up Powerpoint, Moodle, Word etc. to follow along with professor, then at some point they\u2019ll switch to Gmail, Facebook chatting, Google Reader.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been told to sit in the front row to avoid being distracted by other people\u2019s computers, but it\u2019s strange to ask students who are paying attention to sit somewhere else so other students can distract themselves.<\/p>\n

    Technology in the classroom can be wonderful because students can follow along.\u00a0 E.g., students google something the professor said and keep the window open to bring up later on.\u00a0 I have to write a note in my notebook to remind myself to look at something later.\u00a0 But still, by and large it\u2019s a distraction for students, and I don\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sign of disrespect to the professor.\u00a0 A student would never stare out of a window for an hour, so why should students stare at their computers for the same time?\u00a0 It must affect the integrity of the class if you know that a third of the class is not paying attention; I find it discouraging as a fellow student.<\/p>\n

    Marie Dugo: I have my notes for this panel on my iPhone!\u00a0 I\u2019m a big proponent of technology in the classroom.\u00a0 Certainly it makes sense in Media Studies.\u00a0 We need to recognize it\u2019s a decision to make on a class-by-class, case-by-case, person-by-person basis.\u00a0 There have been classes where I feel I\u2019m at a disadvantage if I don\u2019t have my laptop on.\u00a0 In News Media in America, I need to see a news story they\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 I don\u2019t print out my readings in Urban Studies because this color image wouldn\u2019t translate.\u00a0 I type much faster than I write, and my notes in Word can insert, images hyperlinks, even lecture recordings (with Word Notebook feature).\u00a0 I keep my Tweet Deck open in the desktop for my work with the Misc.\u00a0 Yes, I have a lot of things open, but I have the self-control to ignore Tweets about Jersey Shore, etc.; even if I do notice it, it\u2019s gone pretty quick in 140 characters.<\/p>\n

    I hate to think that I\u2019m disrespecting my professors if I\u2019m looking down at my screen.\u00a0 I may be looking down, but I\u2019m looking deeper into the class.\u00a0 I would encourage professors to talk to students who seem completely disengaged by their computer.\u00a0 If they\u2019re really not distracted, they\u2019ll you; if they are, they may lie to you, but they\u2019ll know you\u2019re on to them.\u00a0 And students should give professors a heads-up if you\u2019re worried they think you\u2019re disrespecting them.\u00a0 The problem is not technology but lack of communication around technology.<\/p>\n

    Adam Newman: I want to talk from the perspective of students with disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, using laptops, iPhones and iPads as a form of assisted technology in the classroom.\u00a0 There are audio recording programs to record lectures.\u00a0 There are note-taking software for people with executive functioning impairments (problems systematizing and organizing their thoughts) to organize notes, refer back to them later, and identify themes more easily than in 50 pages of paper notes.<\/p>\n

    I have noticed a lot of distraction in the classroom.\u00a0 There are programs that lock you out of the internet for a set time, which students could use.\u00a0 My view is that college is a transitional space, and it\u2019s not the faculty\u2019s responsible to keep me honest; it\u2019s my responsibility to be honest on my own.\u00a0 I wish every student were fully invested, but it\u2019s their choice and their (parents\u2019) money.\u00a0 It\u2019s better to learn these lessons before we go into their workplace, where the consequence isn\u2019t a talking-to.<\/p>\n

    Regarding the issue of students staring out the window, I\u2019ve known students (not at Vassar) with eye-contact aversion who have been severely disciplined by instructors for not focusing on them.\u00a0 That\u2019s incredibly anxiety-producing for them; they may not be looking, but they\u2019re listening and are as fully engaged as anyone else.\u00a0 I would also counsel against limiting the use of technology in the classroom only to students with disabilities who are registered with the Office of Disabilities to have special accommodations.\u00a0 That becomes stigmatizing, since students are designated in the classroom and outed in a way that\u2019s not fair to them; they have the right not to out themselves.\u00a0 Just because a faculty member doesn\u2019t follow the \u201cuniversal design\u201d principles of engaging students with all kinds of learning styles doesn\u2019t mean the student without accommodations should be denied the best experience in the classroom.<\/p>\n

    Andrew Tallon: I\u2019m playing the role of the Luddite with a more conservative faculty viewpoint.\u00a0 As an instructor of things in a darkened art history classroom, I have a problem with students\u2019 computer screens: glowing devices that compete directly with what I\u2019m trying to teach.\u00a0 Also, they affect the cohesiveness of the classroom; it may seem fine if one student chooses to distract themself, but that can damage the functioning of classrooms that need everyone to focus on the same thing at the same time.<\/p>\n

    On a deeper level, we\u2019re dealing with the fall-out of the \u201cattention age\u201d as students\u2019 attention spans are frittered away and as information is normalized into hit counts and boiled down to ever fewer bytes, Tweeted in and out of the minds of our students.\u00a0 We also see a horror of boredom, but boredom is a formidable engine of creativity.\u00a0 But boredom is an endangered species; as we post Facebook updates, blog, tweet and do something constantly, where is the silence in which thought has the chance to grow?\u00a0 There\u2019s been a sea-change in our ability to digest material.\u00a0 If ten years ago a 50-page reading assignment might not have been exceptional but now it seems to be, can we talk about a rewiring and even damaging of the brain?\u00a0 What is the multitasking equivalent to deep reading a chapter of Moby Dick<\/em>?<\/p>\n

    I fear that by asking students to bring these technologies into the classroom and fill their academic time with busy-ness, we contribute directly to the erosion of their ability to think deeply.\u00a0 I fear that we\u2019ve been led to think that old pedagogical techniques are irrelevant, and that as instructors we must \u201cplay or perish.\u201d\u00a0 Why do we even need teachers and lectures?\u00a0 I\u2019m recording this event on our laptop; why couldn\u2019t that recording be a substitute for the classroom? Shouldn\u2019t the classroom be understood as a sanctuary, a place of undistracted, engaged discussion and reflection?<\/p>\n

    AUDIENCE DISCUSSION<\/strong><\/p>\n

    [Faculty]: Recording my lectures without my awareness undermines the trust and safe environment of the classroom.\u00a0 Students and faculty need to be responsible to each other.<\/p>\n

    [Student]: I\u2019m concerned about the physical and mental health effects of constant technology use.\u00a0 I\u2019ve noticed diminished vision, more headaches, more depression.<\/p>\n

    [Faculty]: Technology is coming regardless of what instructors choose to tolerate in their classroom. Faculty in the sciences know what students will need in their future careers, such as fluency in communication and interaction, and it\u2019s a shame that students are denying themselves that.<\/p>\n

    [Faculty]: Students need to hold each other responsible for their activities in the classroom.\u00a0 Have any students ever asked a fellow student not to use a distracting technology?<\/p>\n

    Kelsey Forest: I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a problem of the technology\u2019s presence in the classroom, but a problem that we don\u2019t facilitate its presence and teach with\/to technology.\u00a0 Our generation is the transitional group and don\u2019t have a lifetime experience or training in using this technology. But more and more students will arrive having been taught these skills in high schools.<\/p>\n

    [Faculty]: I have to admit, some days I don\u2019t care whether students are using technology in the classroom, and some days I do; sometimes that\u2019s driven by pedagogy, and sometimes by my own crankiness.\u00a0 Openness and honesty about technology and why faculty may teach a lesson with or without them is a positive thing about the current moment.<\/p>\n

    [Staff]: As a former student with learning disabilities, I know the recording controversy is not a new issue.\u00a0 Nor is the concern over technology; there\u2019s ancient Egyptian records expressing concerns that writing is not real learning.\u00a0 But the distractions caused by the bright, visual nature of this technology is a new issue.<\/p>\n

    Adam Newman: I question the idea that technology impairs the responsibility students have to one another in the classroom.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in many classrooms without technology where I\u2019ve felt a lack of respect from students who didn\u2019t do the reading and come prepared to participate in class.\u00a0 If they\u2019re not doing the reading, I don\u2019t mind that they stare off into space or their computer screen.<\/p>\n

    Andrew Tallon: That\u2019s an excellent point\u2014we can\u2019t blame the technology.\u00a0 The statistics on Moodle indicate that too many students aren\u2019t downloading the readings.\u00a0 But I think technology has distracted students so much that they can\u2019t do this reading.<\/p>\n

    Marie Dugo: I realize from this panel that I\u2019m being grouped with students who don\u2019t do the readings because I use a laptop in the classroom. I record lectures out of respect for the instructor; I want to quote and cite my professors in my assignments.\u00a0 There needs to be more dialogue in the classroom between professors and students and between students themselves about what\u2019s acceptable in using technology.<\/p>\n

    Cordelia McGee-Tubb: There are ways to compartmentalize the students who are using the technology.\u00a0 At a class at Columbia University, the professor made students using laptops sit in the corner, where teaching assistants sat behind them and made sure they were taking notes, with the knowledge that they could be called on at any time.<\/p>\n

    Belinda Guthrie: As director of the Office of Disabilities, I\u2019m extremely grateful for technology in the classroom because it makes an inaccessible curriculum accessible.\u00a0 Our largest expenditure is on assisted technology, which means the conversations I have with students and faculty now are different than in 1997: note-taking software, real-time remote stenographers.\u00a0 We have to learn to view technology in the classroom as more than accommodating students with disabilities, and so it doesn\u2019t erode the teacher-student and student-student relationship.<\/p>\n

    [Staff]: A question for the students\u2014how much are you having actual conversations about technology in the classroom, for instance on the first day?\u00a0 Or is it the pink elephant in the room?<\/p>\n

    Marie Dugo: It\u2019s come up in some of my classrooms from the instructor.\u00a0 I\u2019d appreciate their views on technology being made clear on the syllabus.\u00a0 But I haven\u2019t had the student-student conversation in any of my classes yet.<\/p>\n

    Kelsey Forest: I\u2019ve had this conversation with students through my role as program intern in Media Studies.\u00a0 In a classroom, some students have asked me not to use a computer before; on group assignments, it\u2019s always helpful for someone to bring the laptop.\u00a0 I\u2019d appreciate if professors made clear why they choose to allow technology or not; the lack of a certain technology is still a technology, still a technological choice.<\/p>\n

    Adam Newman: I\u2019ve had very few professors mention it in the class; my experience is that it\u2019s more the pink elephant in the room.\u00a0 I know one professor who allows students to bring laptops but requires they Facebook friend so that he knows who\u2019s logged on and not paying attention.\u00a0 As for student-student conversations, I\u2019m a forthright person but I\u2019m anxious about mentioning to someone that I\u2019m being distracted.<\/p>\n

    [Faculty]: I have a no-laptop policy after I allowed them once and saw a student looking at their computer with a big smile on their face; they later admitted they were looking at something else.\u00a0 I\u2019m not interested in policing the classroom.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mind if students read online materials, but in my classes I want them to have a different experience reading, so I ask them to print out and bring the materials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Technology at Vassar: What are we doing in the classroom? Student-faculty panel, November 30, 2010 Sponsored by Committee on Academic Technology Leonard Nevarez: Today\u2019s topic, the laptops, iPhones, iPads, smart phones, and other personal technologies that students bring into the classroom, falls outside the jurisdiction of the Committee on Academic Technologies (CAT).\u00a0 There are lots […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6668],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-laptop-policies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/cat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}