*Reflections from 'Digital distraction in the modern classroom By Paul Barnwell'.
Articles such as this are always a welcome reminder of issues related to classroom management, but I can't help come back to the same conclusion: young people (and often adults at faculty meetings) will find ways to distract themselves when they are not engaged, or downright bored. Certainly, we have to learn to deal with boredom and disinterest from a young age, but I can't help but feel that devices in the classroom are just another potential distraction. According to a study in the article, 66-86% of college students were doing some kind of social engagement with their phones during class. Remember passing notes on paper?
I appreciate comments on multi-tasking. My view comes from something I read a while ago. Multi-tasking is essentially dividing up your time, thus spending less attention on each task. When I write a song or play soccer I am completely focused on the tasks. They require it. Shouldn't school work be the same? I appreciate Barnwell's frustration - do we limit screen / device time in order to maximize concentration, and thus learning? I wonder. Perhaps we need to be very focused and vigilant while we use tools. Perhaps we need to be much more focused on device-based tasks, designing lessons more carefully, not to mention clearly demonstrating the value and relevance of tasks to students. Maybe we're shifting gears too quickly during a lesson. I do find that if a school has short blocked periods there is a tendency to rush and the point is often missed, when there is little time to absorb what's happening before the bell suddenly rings.
Getting back to the smart phone part of the discussion, one concern in my school is that, being in an earthquake-prone country, our students need to have their phones close by in the event of an earthquake. (as we witnessed in 2011 in Japan - phone lines were down, but social networking sites proved invaluable to reach loved ones and confirm safety) Smart phones are certainly a great tool for managing learning, using calendars for scheduling and reminders for instance, not to mention Google Drive's smart phone apps. Don't forget the photo/video features and the plethora of quiz and other kinds of learning apps. Regardless, phones are here to stay in my school's classrooms.
Like Barnwell, I'm sure to have some technology-free lessons. Or will I? Since we use iPads and laptop devices, and Google / Edmodo / Moodle as platforms, there are days in which these tools are used to facilitate learning but not to drive "content".
