Just like any other college student, there have been many moments during classes in which I’ve gotten sidetracked from the lecture. Whether it’s staring out the second floor window of the business school eyeing up geese fights, slyly answering an *urgent* text, or somehow ending up on Pinterest, it’s been done before. I consider myself to be a highly dedicated student, and yet there are moments when my distraction from the day’s material seems quite simply out of my control. In fact, most of time time I don’t even realize when I’m not paying attention until the professor switches gears or calls on someone to answer a question.
Though I’ve been distracted in classes before, I do still consider my lack of attention at times to be relatively mild. It’s not very often that I catch myself getting distracted, and when I do, I’m sure to tune back into the lecture (because just one class period costs over 200 dollars when you look at tuition fees and do the math!). Since I generally stay on track during classes, I was frustrated when I came back to campus this year to learn that several of my professors had recently banned cellphones and laptops in the classroom. I wondered what made these professors change their policies and dreaded going back to the oldschool pen and paper (mostly because I can never write down everything fast enough before the professor changes the slide). However, having classes with diverse, polar opposite technology policies this semester has actually taught me something.
Students are selfish.
Love it or hate it, but it’s true. What makes your text conversation with your roommate more important than what your professor is trying to teach you? Can Facebook really not wait 50 minutes? Even though I write that I’m overall an on-task student, I’ve been the distracted kid before too. I’ve walked into a class, pulled out my laptop, and have had absolutely no idea what the topic the professor even talked about when I walked out of the classroom. By no means am I better than anyone else. That being said though, I’ve certainly become more attuned to how technology affects the classroom and how students abuse these priveleges now that they’ve been taken away in several of my classes. I’ve also certainly noticed how an overwhelming number of students can be downright rude and disrespectful towards professors that they either don’t find engaging, or who teach topics that they’re not interested in.
Taking notes on your laptop, when allowed by the professor, is one thing. But vigorously typing away from the second you open your laptop to the point where it’s actually distracting is frustrating for students who are actually trying to learn, or at least show the professor some respect. Being disconnected during a lecture is almost as bad as talking over the professor, because you are essentially having another conversation while they’re trying to teach. And don’t even get me started on people who actually do talk over a professor (it does happen)…
I get that almost everyone surfs social media or online shops during class, but is it really that hard to just wait until later and pay attention? Have we really reached a point where we’ve lost the self control necessary to refrain from doing that? I honestly don’t know the answer to that question as a student whose essentially in the same boat as everyone else whenever I use technology in the classroom (we just all have varying degrees as to how much emphasis we put on multitasking on the internet and how much it affects our learning). However, I urge you to consider a few of these recommendations the next time you’re feeling like checking in with Facebook during class or having a full-on text conversation about what went down at Moonies last night:
Be Discreet
It’s amazing how many students completely disregard the fact that they’re sitting in class while they’re on social media or texting from their Macbooks. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you might get embarrassed or the professor could have a reason to call you out. The amount of times I’ve been in a class where someone’s volume blasts as they start to watch a YouTube video or stream a sports game is absurd. If you’re going to be distracted, the least you can do is be discreet. That also goes for the people who type virtually at the speed of light during the entire lecture, especially when the professor isn’t saying anything worth noting. It’s obvious, and it draws attention.Take the time to actually watch videos the professor shows in class and at least look at some of the slides on the screen. Even if you’re not going to pay attention, you can at least make it look like you are so that you don’t insult the professor.
Partcipate
Every professor loves when students actually participate. Nobody really wants to, but I feel like this just makes the fact that you’re distracted during the lecture a lot less obvious and a little less ridiculous.
Actually Take Notes
If you’re going to be on your computer, the least you can do is actually take some notes. Sure, rotate between screens, have multiple tabs up at once, whatever works for you. There’s no reason though to be on your laptop at all if you don’t have any intentions of taking notes in the first place!
Don’t Be Distracting
If there’s one piece of advice you actually take away from this piece, let it be this one. Don’t. Be. Distracting. I don’t think that anyone is distracting on purpose, but if you sit for a class where everyone’s allowed to have a computer out without using yours, you’ll start to take note of certain behaviors that are distracting for students taking notes the old fashioned way. The loud, angry typing is obviously a major one for me. Just remember that the reason you’re in class isn’t actually just so you can use your alloted absences until later in the semester; the purpose is to learn, no matter how enticing or drop dead boring a class may be.