I am interested to know what other people do about students' use of technology in the classroom. I'm not talking about the obligatory use of PowerPoint by professors. I'm referring to practices of surfing, IMing, and texting during class. I know other teachers who say "no laptops allowed" in class. Being untenured, I'm not brave enough for that. I have a statement in my syllabus that discourages electronic distractions and says that I reserve the right to forbid them. I heard about one professor who became Facebook friends with his students so that he could find their IM screenname and send a message to stop IMing (without missing a beat from his teaching). The IT people at my university have indicated that I may soon have the ability to "switch" on or off the wireless access in my classroom. (I would love to be in the middle of teaching and switch off access--it would only be surprising once, but the looks on students' faces would be priceless!) This morning, I read this syllabus statement about "multi-tasking" in the classroom that I really liked. I've already printed my syllabi for the Monday, but I'm thinking about circulating this statement.
Friday, August 22, 2008
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