tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/student-attention-11302/articlesStudent attention – The Conversation2017-05-18T00:54:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/774562017-05-18T00:54:59Z2017-05-18T00:54:59ZFidget toys aren’t just hype<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169815/original/file-20170517-2399-pt8l8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Balancing and doing tricks requires visual attention.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-teenager-spinning-fidget-spinner-device-641169160">ThamKC via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>An updated version of this article was published on May 7, 2021. <a href="https://theconversation.com/popping-toys-the-latest-fidget-craze-might-reduce-stress-for-adults-and-children-alike-158746">Read it here</a>.</em></p>
<p>The fidget spinner craze has been <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fidget-spinner-craze-is-sweeping-the-u-s-but-some-schools-say-theyre-discractions/">sweeping elementary and middle schools</a>. As of May 17 <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Toys-Games/zgbs/toys-and-games#1">every one of the top 10 best-selling toys on Amazon</a> was a form of the hand-held toy people can spin and do tricks with. Kids and parents are even making them for themselves using <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/glitchpudding/collections/fidget/page:1">3D printers</a> and other <a href="http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/107885/make-fidget-spinner">more homespun crafting techniques</a>.</p>
<p>But some teachers are <a href="http://time.com/money/4765188/fidget-spinners-ban-schools-classrooms-teachers/?xid=homepage">banning them from classrooms</a>. And <a href="http://time.com/money/4774133/fidget-spinners-adhd-anxiety-stress/">experts challenge the idea</a> that spinners are good for conditions like ADHD and anxiety. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antsylabs/fidget-cube-a-vinyl-desk-toy">Kickstarter online fundraising campaign</a> for the Fidget Cube – another popular fidget toy in 2017 – raised an astounding US$6.4 million, and can be seen on the desks of hipsters and techies across the globe. </p>
<p>My research group has taken <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2971485.2971557">a deep look at how people use fidget items</a> over the last several years. What we found tells us that these items are not <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-fidget-spinner-fad-77140">a fad that will soon disappear</a>. Despite sometimes being an <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/05/14/527988954/whirring-purring-fidget-spinners-provide-entertainment-not-adhd-help">annoying distraction for others</a>, fidget items can have some practical uses for adults; our inquiry into their usefulness for children is underway.</p>
<h2>Understanding fidgeting</h2>
<p>Fidgeting didn’t start with the spinner craze. If you’ve ever clicked a ballpoint pen again and again, you’ve used a fidget item. As part of our work, we’ve asked people what items they like to fidget with and how and when they use them. (We’re <a href="http://fidgetwidgets.tumblr.com">compiling their answers online</a> and welcome <a href="http://fidgetwidgets.tumblr.com/submit">additional contributions</a>.)</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169817/original/file-20170517-24350-hq4ai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">People fidget with everyday items such as paper clips.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/metal-paperclip-isolated-on-white-background-198562463">MaIII Themd via shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>One thing people often report is that fidgeting with an object in the hand helps them to stay focused when doing a long task or sitting still and attentive in a long meeting. Many examples people have told us about are ready-to-hand objects like paper clips, USB thumb drives, headphone earbuds and sticky tape. But people also buy specialized items like a fidget spinner or a Fidget Cube for this purpose.</p>
<p>Another common thread involves people using some fidget objects – like a favorite smooth stone – to calm themselves down, helping them achieve a more relaxed, contemplative, even mindful state. </p>
<h2>Fine-tuning for focus</h2>
<p>Psychology research about sensation seeking tells us that people often seek to adjust their experiences and their environments so that they provide <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sensation-Seeking-Psychology-Revivals-Beyond-the-Optimal-Level-of-Arousal/Zuckerman/p/book/9781315755496">just the right level of stimulation</a>. Different people function well under different circumstances. Some people like total quiet to help them focus, while others are happiest working in a busy, noisy environment. </p>
<p>The optimal level of stimulation (or lack thereof) not only varies <a href="https://www.steelcase.com/insights/articles/quiet-ones/">among people</a> but even can change for one person throughout the day <a href="https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2015/07/noise-can-help-you-study/">depending upon what he or she is trying to do</a>. So people fine-tune their environments to get things just right: for example, <a href="https://www.15five.com/blog/getting-sht-done-in-an-open-office/">putting on headphones in a noisy office environment</a> to substitute less distracting noise.</p>
<p>A person who can’t get up and walk around to wake up a bit, or go have a nice cup of tea to calm down, may find it helpful to use a fidget item to get in the right frame of mind to stay focused and calm while staying put.</p>
<h2>What researchers say</h2>
<p>Our results align with <a href="https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/2014/11/fidgeting-strategies-for-kids-with-neurodevelopmental-disorders/">anecdotal accounts</a> about fidget toys helping children with attention or anxiety issues to stay focused and calm in the classroom. In fact, fidget toys have been <a href="https://www.therapyshoppe.com/category/8-fidget-toys">available for kids</a> for quite some time. </p>
<p>There hasn’t yet been a definitive study of the impact of these toys in the research world. In one <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ853381">preliminary study</a> looking at stress ball use, sixth graders who used these fidget toys during instruction independently reported that their “attitude, attention, writing abilities, and peer interaction improved.” </p>
<p>The closest significant research is UC Davis behavioral science professor Julie Schweitzer’s study of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2015.1044511">letting children with ADHD fidget</a> – wriggling, bouncing or otherwise moving gently in place – while they worked on a lab-based concentration task called the “<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03192844">flanker paradigm</a>.” She found that more overall movement (measured using an accelerometer on the ankle) in children with ADHD did help them perform this cognitively demanding task.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s a big step from that finding to a claim that fidgeting with small objects in the hand can work, too. However, therapists tend to focus more on results than theoretical findings. They use what gets results and throw out what doesn’t, so practical experience suggests these toys may help kids.</p>
<h2>Avoiding distraction</h2>
<p>And yet, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fidget-spinners-banned-from-top-high-schools-2017-5">schools are banning the spinners</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fidget-spinners-are-being-banned-from-classrooms-2017-5">teachers are taking them away</a>. The reason is that not all fidget items are created equal.</p>
<p>The items that therapists recommend are primarily tactile – a user holds it in a hand and can manipulate it without looking. But fidget spinners require hand-eye coordination. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YHq9t05vKHA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The basics of using a fidget spinner.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHq9t05vKHA">To use a fidget spinner</a>, a person holds the center of the spinner with thumb and finger, and then uses the other hand (or other fingers on the same hand) to get the spinner rotating. Once it’s spinning, there are tricks to be explored, like balancing the rotating spinner on a thumb. </p>
<p>Balancing a moving object really requires keeping an eye on it, and doing tricks is a lot of what makes the spinners fun. It’s also what draws the eyes of the user away from the teacher, and likely also the eyes of nearby students. This is the bane of a teacher trying to keep a classroom focused.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169819/original/file-20170517-9937-1aijvbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Less spinning, more focus?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fidget-cube-stress-reliever-fingers-toy-634069979">idan gamliel via shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>By contrast, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-crazy-aarons-thinking-putty-0415-biz-20160414-story.html">putty</a>, stress balls and other therapeutic fidget items don’t have this visual attention problem. They can serve the same purpose as the spinners, but are more classroom-ready and less distracting. In the same way, the Kickstarted Fidget Cube, too, is probably also more classroom-friendly.</p>
<p>Fidget items do seem to serve a valuable purpose. There’s still science to be done, but they’re not just a fad. They embody an enduring phenomenon that nearly everyone uses at some point – just watch your own behavior when doing desk work or sitting in meetings. My research team continues to study fidgeting behavior and design, working to create next-generation smart fidget objects that support managing attention and keeping calm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77456/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Isbister receives funding from Committee for Children, a nonprofit focused on teaching children social-emotional skills. </span></em></p>Fidget items can have practical uses that help people calm down and stay focused. The problem with spinners may be that they require visual attention, which can distract users and others nearby.Katherine Isbister, Professor of Computational Media, University of California, Santa CruzLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/451732015-08-03T11:32:56Z2015-08-03T11:32:56ZMonitoring who attends class is pointless unless it counts towards students’ grades<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90302/original/image-20150730-25736-s42js6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not everyone is here, but I'll begin. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lecture via wavebreakmedia/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>University lecturers rarely get 100% of students turn up to every lecture. Nor do we expect them all to. Those who have got up, travelled to campus and made their way to class are clearly the most motivated and interested in their education. Good attendance rates can indicate that a lecturer is good at teaching – or perhaps that they have secured a good time slot, not too early on a Monday or too late on a Friday. </p>
<p>In a world of student visas and loans, universities are now under greater pressure to show that the students who say they attend university actually do. Monitoring of attendance has traditionally been done at checkpoints throughout the year, such as registration and exams. But now universities are <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/634624c6-312b-11e5-91ac-a5e17d9b4cff.html#slide0">trialling different ways of monitoring</a> how students spend their time, made easier at institutions <a href="https://theconversation.com/snooping-professor-or-friendly-don-the-ethics-of-university-learning-analytics-23636">such as the Open University</a> where much of the course material and interaction is online. </p>
<p>As more universities experiment with electronic monitoring systems, I think more should be done to link attendance to the way the module is taught. Students need to know that if they don’t turn up, there will be an impact on their grade at the end. </p>
<p>If we promote students as adults who are active in their education, I think universities are heading in the wrong direction if they institute policies of attendance monitoring that gives birth to Big Brother. It shouldn’t be anybody but the student who is responsible for his or her class attendance.</p>
<h2>Ways to watch</h2>
<p>There are some instances in which participation in a class or session is mandatory – such as laboratories in science courses or ensembles in music courses. However, the majority of students whose university careers are built around lectures and seminars have to rely on intrinsic motivation to propel them into the classroom. </p>
<p>There are a <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?reload=true&arnumber=6266137">multitude of ways</a> to track student attendance that do not necessarily link up with how much they actually participate once they get there. One US university came under fire a few years ago for introducing <a href="http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?7628">radio-frequency identification (RFID) trackers</a>, built into students ID cards, to track their attendance.</p>
<p>Attendance monitoring can be linked to academic consequences. <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/Regulations/SPS/Attendance/studentFAQ">Newcastle University’s student progress policy states</a> that there are different levels of reprimand depending how many times a student is absent. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If there are continued absences you may be called to a meeting … In very extreme cases an academic unit may invoke unsatisfactory progress regulations. In very rare cases the university may withdraw students who are not attending their classes. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But this kind of strategy does not address the classroom component of the module. Students are busy, and by looking at the handbook they can see what is required for each module. The expectation might be that they need to show up for every session but the reality is that your marks come from exams and essays, not attendance in class. One example of this is from the <a href="https://www.uclan.ac.uk/students/study/attendance_monitoring.php">University of Central Lancashire</a>, which states in the frequently asked questions section of its attendance monitoring policy that “decisions regarding your academic performance will be based on the assessments submitted and marked”. </p>
<h2>Make attendance a requirement</h2>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90304/original/image-20150730-25762-1j4dtlk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">No carrot, no stick.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carrot via Lisa S. / www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The introduction of <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/cracking-down-on-skipping-class-1421196743">retention monitoring systems</a> appeals to universities that want to increase the percentage of students graduating within a certain timeframe. We tell the students to swipe their ID card or tick a box when they enter the classroom and we tell them that we are tracking their attendance. What we don’t tell them is that this is a situation where the university has no carrot and no stick. </p>
<p>On a course-by-course basis, module leaders are able to decide on the required assessments – and participation and attendance can be built in if approved and quality is assured. But most universities have no carrot here, because for many courses, if a student has access to the right course material and reading lists, it’s still possible to pass the assessment without turning up to lectures or seminars. No lecturer that I am aware of will deny a student a copy of the presentation if they miss class and most lecturers post class materials on the university learning management system. </p>
<p>Students who miss a session don’t get the context of the lesson and how it relates to the bigger picture of the module or course. Yes, students are paying for this education and yes they should be able to choose whether they attend class or not. This does not mean that the lecturer should have to juggle or sing and dance to get students to show up; but it does mean that there have to be meaningful expectations of attendance that match up with the results and teaching of a module. </p>
<p>The days of the sage on the stage are over: the teaching methods of active learning and problem-based learning mean students have come to expect that the pedagogy of the lesson is linked to the participation. Let them be the freethinking adults we assume them to be and make their own decisions about whether or not to attend sessions. But make it count towards their grade too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dana Ruggiero does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students need to have an educational incentive not to skip class, rather than just being scare of Big Brother.Dana Ruggiero, Senior Lecturer in Learning Technology, Bath Spa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/359422015-01-15T06:03:35Z2015-01-15T06:03:35ZLet me edutain you! Why university lecturers need to play to their audience<p>In his anthemic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymPu2PdLW3I">Let me entertain you</a>, Robbie Williams urges his audience to “come and sing a different song”. University lecturers could take a lesson or two from Stoke-on-Trent’s favourite singer-songwriter. Edutainment, far from the pariah many in academia fear, could be one of the best ways of keeping the next generation of students engaged and interested.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/childrens-attention-spans-at-risk-from-too-much-screen-time-23051">Attention deficit</a> in the millennial generation is becoming increasingly significant, particularly for university lecturers facing a wall of students staring into their laptop or smartphone screens.</p>
<p>Switching off technology devices is clearly not a problem restricted to higher education. The amusement park <a href="https://www.thorpepark.com">Thorpe Park</a> has highlighted that one of its biggest competitors is the mobile device, where it is seen as a major draw in the entertainment space. </p>
<p>Other institutions have embraced those who want to watch through their phones. In 2014, Manchester City became the first English Premier League football club to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2595146/Manchester-City-Premier-League-club-introduce-free-wifi-stadium.html">install</a> high-density wifi broadband at their stadium, providing further opportunities for commercial sponsorship engagement and activation.</p>
<h2>Times not to multi-task</h2>
<p>It seems if you are a digital native, you think you can do more than one thing at a time. Always on, wifi-enabled tablets and smart phones are materially changing our consumption behaviour. There is a creeping acceptance of public, silent multi-tasking. </p>
<p>But my view is that we all benefit from focusing on a single task, particularly in a learning environment. Transfer this to the university classroom, and my new approach this academic year is to buck <a href="http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-of-the-lecture">the trend</a> and release my learning support presentation materials after the lecture, not before. The impact on students’ behaviour is noticeable and in my view, positive. They are tending to put their tech away and fully engage with the lecture. </p>
<p>My colleague Alan Bradshaw has taken further steps and banned personal technology from his classroom altogether, like schools do. He is convinced, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-fight-why-we-banned-laptops-ipads-and-smartphones-in-lectures-32116">Bent Meier Sorensen</a> at Copenhagen Business School, that it has made for a more productive learning environment. </p>
<p>Of course, there are reasons why releasing lecture material ahead of time can be useful for some students. For example, international students who do not have English as a first language often value a lecture transcript that can be read ahead of class. Of course anyone needing prior sight of materials can have them, but so far I have not had any requests. </p>
<h2>Edutainment can beat the boredom</h2>
<p>But banning distractions is not enough. My use of what I call “edutainment” seeks to employ (not very funny) attempts at humour, slides dominated by images and theatrical movement that invites extensive input from the large group. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69027/original/image-20150114-3888-130dxmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beating back the boredom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-160647344/stock-photo-male-sleeping-with-students-sitting-in-the-college-lecture-hall.html?src=AS4-nYTvg_Craits5XBDTA-1-19&ws=1">Student sleeping via wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The conflation of education and entertainment is a notion that I suspect may <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-the-age-of-online-education-herald-the-death-of-academics-31123">invoke visceral reactions</a> from some academics. </p>
<p>Sandi Mann, a psychologist at the University of Central Lancaster who researches student behaviour, has said that elaborate fire-eating and juggling entertainment approaches <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/may/12/university-teaching">are not needed</a> to obfuscate student boredom. But others, such as the MIT researchers Tom Clay and Lori Breslow, <a href="http://web.mit.edu/fnl/volume/184/breslow.html">argued in a 2006 faculty newsletter</a> that professorial capability to engage and entertain students are an important determinant of lecture attendance.</p>
<h2>Breakthrough and engage</h2>
<p>I feel strongly that part of the role of lectures is to inspire and engage students in the learning process. Senior academics are described by some as <a href="https://theconversation.com/coming-to-an-arena-near-you-economists-the-new-rock-stars-28496">celebrity-like rock stars</a>, providing the spark to light the candle rather than pouring knowledge out of a jug.</p>
<p>In my view, the lecture has an important inspirational dimension that seeks to kindle a fire in the belly of students to begin rather than end their interaction with any given topic they are learning about. One of the simpler <a href="http://www.academia.edu/5782044/Nyilasy_G._and_Reid_L._N._2009_._Agency_practitioner_theories_of_how_advertising_works._Journal_of_Advertising_38_3_81-96">advertising effectiveness theories</a> is: “breakthrough and engage”. It’s a powerful and relevant idea for the university lecturer. </p>
<p>It’s important to use both the theoretical frameworks and industry examples needed to teach a subject, but also engage the audience and set up an environment where many different students feel comfortable to speak up. </p>
<p>Spending interactive introductory time feeling the energy and mood of the group is an approach I have recently emphasised, <a href="http://mbadirector.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/noh-drama-here-were-mba-students.html">thanks to collaboration</a> with drama colleagues working with our MBA students at Royal Holloway. </p>
<p>Ice-breaking topical banter can also invite students to share what is on their minds using an exaggerated pantomimesque “I can’t hear you!” speakeasy style. The <a href="http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/Tenwaystomakelecturesmoredynamic.aspx">BBC recommends upfront student captivation</a> as their first of ten recommendations to make lectures more dynamic.</p>
<h2>Not everyone has to be a rock star</h2>
<p>But galvanising student engagement can be very difficult. I appreciate that lack of initial success with this approach can see reliance on the more traditional monologue style lecture. The “<a href="http://www.eazhull.org.uk/nlc/think,_pair,_share.htm">think, pair and share</a>” technique, in which students pair-up to discuss questions posed by the teacher, can help overcome the stage fright experienced when students prefer not to speak up in larger lecture spaces. </p>
<p>Not every academic can be a rock star, but we certainly can enthusiastically create the learning spark and bring about a fun learning environment that blends education with elements of entertainment. “C'mon, Let me edutain you!”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35942/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Justin O'Brien does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In his anthemic Let me entertain you, Robbie Williams urges his audience to “come and sing a different song”. University lecturers could take a lesson or two from Stoke-on-Trent’s favourite singer-songwriter…Professor Justin O'Brien, MBA Programme Director, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/321162014-11-11T05:52:22Z2014-11-11T05:52:22ZFacebook fight: why we banned laptops, iPads and smartphones in lectures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63769/original/9nm5vjbs-1415205768.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who are you working for?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://startbloggingonline.com/">startbloggingonline.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I recently invited a top management consultant to give a guest lecture at my course at Copenhagen Business School. I went to sit among the students during the talk. They had been instructed to take notes, since the consultant was to be case material for their exam. Despite this, I watched a student sitting less than one metre in front of me spend almost the entire two-hour lecture on Facebook and private email. </p>
<p>During those two hours I painfully realised that something had gone devastatingly wrong in our contemporary attempts to uphold teaching and learning as distinguished and engaging activities.</p>
<p>A recent Scandinavian <a href="http://www.b.dk/nationalt/hjerneforsker-opfordrer-skoler-til-at-blokere-facebook-0">study</a> showed that virtually all high-school students have their Facebook account open during classes. My <a href="http://politiken.dk/debat/kroniken/ECE2324568/halvdelen-af-de-studerende-bliver-vaek-fra-undervisningen/">own experiences</a> and the considerable <a href="http://politik.tv2.dk/2014-06-26-professor-%E2%80%98danske-studerende-laver-alt-lidt%E2%80%99">debate in Denmark</a> that the publication of these experiences caused suggest that between 25% and 50% of the students in a given lecture at university are also present on social media. Even if we follow the most conservative estimates, the problem – at all levels of the global educational system – is tremendous.</p>
<p>The fact is that a large proportion of students are not mentally present during class. This then leaves the rest of the student group permanently distracted by those “leaving class” via social media: the tantalising Facebook logo popping up on some students’ screens will inevitable fuel everyone’s fear of missing out. The teacher is then left to the merciless competition with the social media for the students’ attention – a competition even the most gifted teacher will eventually lose. </p>
<h2>Social media success</h2>
<p>Senior professors occasionally insist that today’s students are lazier than their predecessors, but this is plainly wrong. Students work hard and, in the hours they spend in lectures, they create enormous amounts of value. The problem is that this is not value accredited only to their personal educational merits or their alma mater’s knowledge production. It also represents value for Facebook, a corporation already <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ecc0f050-37a3-11e4-bd0a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3EDpvm3kk">worth $200 billion</a>.</p>
<p>A considerable part of this value is produced in lecture halls throughout the world. This contribution is critical for Facebook’s stock value, but the consequences for universities and their students are catastrophic: the loss of time and creativity is colossal. </p>
<p>A solid university degree, obtained through focused study, may potentially secure you a job. An armada of Facebook friends and thousands of updates on your timeline simply indicates how effectively your free labour is harvested by Facebook.</p>
<p>This is so much more baffling, as universities were built as places where time should not be wasted, but filled with creative work, an idea carried over from its monastic predecessors. At the monastery, time could not be wasted since time belonged to God: one needed to be ready, because God would return at any given time and claim it back. </p>
<h2>Benedictine rulebook</h2>
<p>The founder of one of the greatest monastic orders, <a href="http://www.osb.org/">Saint Benedict</a>, realised this need for preparedness in a way still apt for today’s universities. The short form of his rule is <em>ora et labora</em>, roughly translated into “think and work” (it literally translates as “pray and work”). While modern-day universities allow for a great deal of “thinking”, they have downplayed “work” – that is, the intense focus on the production of tangible results such as reading difficult books, solving problems and coming up with new ideas. </p>
<p>The café culture of communicating freely and indulging in fantasy has moved into the university – invited, partly, by the desire of the modern corporate university to attract as many students as possible. Measuring university quality in terms of the number of graduates is part of this problem.</p>
<p>In trying to combat this, I have a few ideas, informed by St Benedict, the patron saint of students. His focus on “thinking and working” needs to be turned into a mantra relevant for modern students. </p>
<h2>Laptop ban in action</h2>
<p>Angered by the blue Facebook light, those ubiquitous and shiny white apples and the comatose students dominating the lecture hall, I worked with colleagues to come up with a set of Benedictine rules to try out. We enforced these rules in two courses at Copenhagen Business School’s <a href="http://www.cbs.dk/en/study/graduate/msc-in-business-administration-and-philosophy">Philosophy and Business programme</a> this autumn.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63770/original/2nxmjfqy-1415205880.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wall of laptops.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattcornock/8938621161">mattcornock</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>First, attendance is mandatory in all classes, a practice hitherto alien to Scandinavian students. As we can’t yet formally punish failure to meet the rules, it is all still based on voluntary submission to them – just like in a real monastery. Furthermore, all students now need to equip themselves with nameplates and accept that they may be called upon by the professors at any time to answer questions or participate in discussions. On top of this, no laptops, iPads or smartphones are allowed during class. They may be consulted during breaks.</p>
<p>The immediate reception of the rules did include some surprised faces and one or two laptops closed very reluctantly. Yet the response by the time the first evaluation came around after two months was unison: “This course’s ban of computers is a tremendous relief!” From the professor’s perspective, the change in the lecture hall is palpable: students are now physically and spiritually present and seem to be relieved not to be contributing their labour to Facebook’s coffers any more. They are all ready to listen and partake, down to the last row.</p>
<p>A lot more experimentation and exchange of experiences is needed to counteract the Facebook invasion into higher education and so restore the university’s role as a place for both thinking and working. But the Rule of Benedict is one place to begin.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bent Meier Sørensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>I recently invited a top management consultant to give a guest lecture at my course at Copenhagen Business School. I went to sit among the students during the talk. They had been instructed to take notes…Bent Meier Sørensen, Professor in Philosophy and Business, Copenhagen Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/322542014-10-02T13:42:43Z2014-10-02T13:42:43ZTeachers on naughty step over pupils’ bad behaviour, but Ofsted report is unfair<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60434/original/4nzvhps5-1412089597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Low-flying behaviour. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-200191559/stock-photo-naughty-high-school-student-throwing-a-paper-plane-during-class.html?src=mA_IlYT6n-64ysZcjOZy9g-1-0">Naughty boy via AntonioDiaz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ofsted’s <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/below-radar-low-level-disruption-country%E2%80%99s-classrooms">recent report</a> raising concerns about “low-level disruptive behaviour” in schools may prompt nostalgia for an age when order was maintained by students’ innate deference to their elders, backed up by corporal punishment, detention and writing lines. Stand by for <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Becoming_an_Outstanding_Primary_School_T.html?id=4uhhYgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">historians’ anecdotes of unruly students</a> from ancient Greek to Edwardian times, followed by calls for a focus on nurturing <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Emotional_Intelligence.html?id=AcJ7dwsnWiIC">“emotional literacy”</a> – the ability to manage feelings and subsequent behaviour.</p>
<p>In the face of polarised debates on how to manage children’s behaviour in the classroom, it is important to consider the evidence. There is a widespread acceptance that the <a href="http://www.uk.sagepub.com/textbooks/Book236916">most effective teachers</a> are those that appear to spend the least amount of time actively managing behaviour. These teachers focus on creating an environment in which students feel positive about learning rather than battling disruptive behaviour. </p>
<p>As well as teaching stimulating lessons matched to the learning needs of their students, they <a href="http://www.uk.sagepub.com/textbooks/Book236916">focus on the wider classroom environment</a>. By developing positive relationships and establishing clear expectations for behaviour, they spend less time micro-managing disruptive incidents.</p>
<h2>How good teachers cope with disruption</h2>
<p>Managing behaviour through skillful teaching is hardly a new idea – the textbook market is awash with advice. Some of these evaluate theoretical models such as “<a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6OQ9fn9il6gC&oi=fnd&pg=PR19&dq=choice+theory+glasser+classroom+management&ots=_B2eXJZZR_&sig=qXV_4onrn1LSUZWJ6xlFjg3VVkQ#v=onepage&q=choice%20theory%20glasser%20classroom%20management&f=false">choice theory</a>”, which advocates allowing students to consider and plan for the conditions they want to study in. </p>
<p>Another theory is “<a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Behaviour_Management_in_the_Classroom.html?id=_4cOriMlim8C">transactional analysis</a>”, which employs psychotherapeutic principles to help teachers manage their interactions with students more effectively. Others are more practical (and better-selling) <a href="http://www.pearson.ch/HigherEducation/Education/1449/9781408225547/The-Essential-Guide-to-Taking.aspx">“how-to”</a> manuals. The latter are almost universally derided by the royalty-starved authors of the former as peddling simplistic “tips for teachers”. </p>
<p>When stripped down to their essentials, these textbooks are remarkably consistent about what constitutes effective classroom management, namely:</p>
<ul>
<li>Engage students early on in the lesson </li>
<li>Help them see the relevance of the learning by making connections to the real world</li>
<li>Make the purpose of the lesson clear, including sharing learning objectives</li>
<li>Cater for a range of learning styles</li>
<li>Encourage active participation </li>
<li>Ask students questions and get them to evaluate their own learning</li>
<li>Maintain pace and momentum throughout the lesson</li>
<li>Recap on the purpose of the lesson and give positive feedback</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sanctions and rewards</h2>
<p>This is not to say there is no place in the classroom for behaviourist conditioning, such as rewarding positive behaviour and discouraging negative behaviour through sanctions. Effective teachers establish expectations and procedures from the outset and apply them consistently. They reinforce these by praising positive behaviour or offering more tangible rewards. </p>
<p>Parents of primary-aged children will be familiar with the task of removing “great work!” stickers from uniforms at the end of the day. Many secondary schools now use online games platforms, such as <a href="https://www.vivoclass.com/">Vivo Class</a>, to incentivise good behaviour. But these rewards are generally viewed as being of secondary importance – what matters is getting the teaching right.</p>
<p>This is not to say that these expert teachers will maintain perfect behaviour from all their students at all times – this would be unrealistic. What they do is ensure that the environment does not deteriorate and so prevent potential disruptive incidents impacting on the “flow” of the lesson. </p>
<h2>What is Ofsted playing at?</h2>
<p>Given that a generation of teachers <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3BOit7FGgzoC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=mujis+reynolds&ots=-t5Rf0wL4c&sig=zT1bYZyd_UBUZxLDFufLqIdVDkI#v=onepage&q=mujis%20reynolds&f=false">have been trained in learner-centred</a>, interactive approaches, and school leaders and Ofsted have combined to promote these in schools, its findings might seem surprising. </p>
<p>The report’s headline that a “failure of leadership in tackling poor behaviour” is “costing pupils up to an hour of learning a day” will, of course, worry parents. But, even a cursory reading of the survey data invites scepticism. </p>
<p>Teachers clearly do recognise that low-level disruptive behaviour impacts on learning. But it is hard to see how the figure of “an hour of learning a day” figure is arrived at when 64% report losing less than five minutes per hour and only 7% reporting losing more than ten minutes. On top of this, 93% of the teachers felt “confident or very confident” in handling disruptive behaviour and rated their schools’ learning culture extremely positively.</p>
<h2>Selective stats</h2>
<p>The report also draws upon 95 Ofsted school inspections and it is this data that leads to the headlines of “poor leadership”. Senior leaders, apparently, are indecisive and inconsistent in dealing with behaviour in “over a third” of schools. </p>
<p>But these reports are drawn exclusively from inspections where overall effectiveness of a school was judged to be either grade three (requires improvement) or grade four (inadequate). Given that currently only around <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/latest-official-statistics-maintained-school-inspections-and-outcomes">20% of inspections</a> result in grades three or four, the critical findings are hardly surprising, and certainly unrepresentative. </p>
<p>Given the skewed nature of the evidence presented in this report, perhaps its real significance lies in its sideswipe at school leaders. It will no doubt exacerbate the longstanding tensions between Ofsted and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-college-for-teaching-and-leadership">National College for Teaching and Leadership</a>, the agency responsible for both teacher quality and school leadership. Wilshaw will be satisfied with the points scored, but yet again the cost will be measured in parental anxiety and teacher morale.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Wilkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ofsted’s recent report raising concerns about “low-level disruptive behaviour” in schools may prompt nostalgia for an age when order was maintained by students’ innate deference to their elders, backed…Christopher Wilkins, Director of Teacher Education, School of Education, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/310702014-09-03T11:25:50Z2014-09-03T11:25:50ZClassroom smartphone addicts are developing damaging workplace habits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58043/original/8vcbjmy2-1409674128.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">I am taking notes, honest. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-119557786/stock-photo-students-sitting-at-the-desk-learning-with-one-man-holding-a-smartphone.html?src=QLnScjGAJSFfkEi-C5cUmw-2-5">Students via wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The joke among lecturers goes like this: you can receive “instant feedback” on your teaching simply by observing how many texts and social media posts your students send on their mobiles during class. If a student sends 20 messages during your three-hour session, your lecture is probably lacking and has likely failed to capture much of their attention. If, on the other hand, a student only sends five texts, your lecture must be excellent.</p>
<p>This may be a joke. But in recent years, many of my colleagues and I have noted an upswing in the frequency of students texting during class. Now <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=145864">a new study</a> from Baylor University in the US has indicated that approximately 60% of college students admit they may be addicted to their phones. Researchers found that female students spend an average of 10 hours a day on their phones, while men spend nearly eight hours a day.</p>
<p>Perhaps there is no effective way to stop students feeding their addiction during lectures. After all, they are adults capable of choosing their own life priorities and I feel no desire to play parent or policeman.</p>
<h2>‘A graders’ not the phone addicts</h2>
<p>But one thing is clear. Even though students may text more during a boring lecture, the fact that they text frequently says a lot more about their performance in the classroom than it does about my lecture. According to my own observations over the last couple of years, there is a direct correlation between frequent student phone use and performance in class. I rarely find the “A” students among the chronic phone users.</p>
<p>Of course, you can argue that I’ve got the cause and effect wrong. Rather than concluding that those who engage in “extreme” texting during class learn less (and therefore receive poor grades as a result), maybe unmotivated students who are unwilling to work tend to spend more time on social media and texting.</p>
<p>Frankly, it really doesn’t matter which one is cause and which one is effect. As I see it, spending a lot of time on a phone is damaging to a student’s learning process. Besides, it can have consequences that go far beyond the classroom.</p>
<h2>Bad habits for workplace</h2>
<p>No one can aptly text and listen at the same time, and when texting trumps listening, students can miss out on valuable insights and crucial information (for their exams at least). Constant texting can also become a very bad habit that can be far more damaging in the professional world than in school, where a job, not just a grade, is on the line. Falling into the temptation to check text messages – and respond to them – may not be well received in staff or client meetings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58046/original/x5jf52jr-1409674615.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You didn’t notice, but everybody left already.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tobi_digital/14807655613/sizes/l/">tobi_digital</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another pattern I’ve noticed has to do with note taking – or the lack thereof. Those students who are frequently on their phones are the same ones who don’t take notes. Perhaps this does not sound like a serious issue, but to me it is. Even though texting on the surface represents only a fleeting moment of diverted attention, it is a moment away from being engaged in learning. </p>
<p>Of course, some students are probably <a href="http://www.uvu.edu/learningstrategies/styles/auditory.html">auditory learners</a> who don’t really need to take notes. But if you’re not bothering to take notes and you’re not an auditory learner, that omission inhibits the learning process. Perhaps of greater concern is that if students are frequently on their phones in all their classes, they are effectively, and perhaps unwittingly, abandoning their entire education.</p>
<p>So as much as it may seem like sending text is harmless and simply makes a class period go by more easily, it’s at the cost of performance in the class: lower grades will drive home that point. It can also lead to a very harmful habit that could follow students into the professional world. Therefore, students should develop the resolve to resist texting during class or try to keep it to the minimum. </p>
<p>There is one last reason why students may be texting frequently – and I could be making a fool of myself here. All of this can most likely be explained by the fact that my lectures are simply lousy and boring. In this case, don’t let me know via text.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31070/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terence Tse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The joke among lecturers goes like this: you can receive “instant feedback” on your teaching simply by observing how many texts and social media posts your students send on their mobiles during class…Terence Tse, Associate Professor of Finance, ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/285662014-07-02T13:44:57Z2014-07-02T13:44:57ZDon’t ban laptops in class, talk to students via Facebook<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52778/original/zbr9s646-1404222177.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C110%2C1227%2C722&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How to navigate the sea of laptops.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/1472187414/sizes/o/">Brett Jordan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technology is an established part of the lives of students. But university lecturers are becoming increasingly frustrated at how they must compete with tablets and laptops for students’ attention in the lecture hall. In the US, Dartmouth computer science professor Dan Rockmore has recently <a href="http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2014/06/13/three-issues-with-the-case-for-banning-laptops/">stoked debate</a> in <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/06/the-case-for-banning-laptops-in-the-classroom.html">a New Yorker article</a> arguing that laptops should be banned in the classroom. </p>
<p>Perhaps weary lecturers should be looking at the problem from a different angle and asking whether social networking sites such as Facebook can actually become a good place to teach. Or at least communicate with their students. </p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17439880902921949#.U7PYSLHb7Io">research has argued</a> that Facebook and other social media networks have educational potential. Facebook can <a href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/28566/edit#?editor=cm">promote interaction</a> between students and teachers – such as making announcements, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01195.x/abstract;jsessionid=A14FCBE47520DE435760C6CD1A22AF2D.f04t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false">discussions and sharing resources</a>.</p>
<p>Other <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02500160903250648#.U7PY1bHb7Io">South African research</a> investigating student use of Facebook and lecturer engagement with students via the platform found lecturers saw it as easier and quicker way to contact students. Students, particularly shy ones, were more comfortable asking questions via Facebook and they also felt lecturers were more approachable after they had interacted with them via Facebook. </p>
<p>But teachers have to combat the fact that growing evidence suggests the value of Facebook in higher education does not yet relate to formal learning at all, but rather to students’ quest for social networking. </p>
<p>Previous <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17439880902923606">research</a> has found that students prefer to keep Facebook for their personal lives rather than bringing it into the educational setting. They prefer to use Facebook for more informal learning (communication about course content and peer support) rather than formal learning. </p>
<p>Facebook can also be a useful tool to help students integrate into university life <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17439880902923606">through meeting friends</a> and providing a good <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17439884.2011.587435#.U7PZorHb7Io">network for support</a> and sharing information about the course. </p>
<p>Research <a href="http://alh.sagepub.com/content/13/1/9.full.pdf+html">exploring Twitter</a> in academia has also found it is a useful and viable learning tool. It can enhance active and informal learning through increased (24/7) communication and allow students to create and share ideas as well as foster collaboration outside and inside the classroom.</p>
<h2>Stay professional</h2>
<p>But students and teachers need to be aware that their online activity leaves a digital footprint and they need to be professional in the way they interact online. Reports have highlighted <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20202935/ns/business-school_inc_/t/job-candidates-getting-tripped-facebook/">cases of people being sacked</a> due to unprofessional behaviour online. </p>
<p>My <a href="http://alh.sagepub.com/content/15/2/117.full.pdf+html">recent research</a> has investigated the attitudes of university teachers to the use of Facebook in the classroom. I found they do not tend to use such tools in their teaching, but would like more guidelines about online professionalism and how to use Facebook for educational purposes. </p>
<p>Those teachers who do use Facebook in their teaching found more positives than negatives, suggesting it enhances communication between lecturer and student. Facebook was viewed as beneficial because it increased and enhanced the student experience through class discussions outside of the classroom. </p>
<p>But teachers are aware of the importance for both lecturer and student to be conscious of their digital footprint and adhere to professional standards online. </p>
<p>Using social media to teach is still a rarity. But there are many social media tools educators could utilise such as Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. Deborah Abdel Nabi at the University of Bolton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scT9tgb_6HM">even successfully uses Second Life</a> to enable students to learn the psychology of cyberspace. </p>
<p>There is also <a href="http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/FUTL49/FUTL49.pdf">continuing interest</a> in how to use “off-the-shelf” computer games to teach. Some <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/sep/14/gaming-in-education-tips-for-teachers-ollie-bray">schools have employed computer games</a> in the classroom to teach a variety of subjects in creative ways.</p>
<p>More should be done to encourage and support the use of social media within teaching and learning. Increasing ways to engage students and encourage students to learn outside of the classroom environment is valuable to everyone. It’s either that, or find that half the class is playing Candy Crush instead. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Prescott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Technology is an established part of the lives of students. But university lecturers are becoming increasingly frustrated at how they must compete with tablets and laptops for students’ attention in the…Julie Prescott, Lecturer in Psychology, University of BoltonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.