next »

[compliteacher]

As long as a student is not overly distracted with their cell phone in class (i.e., they may check it occasionally or may send a text after they have finished an in-class assignment and they have a free moment before we come back together to discuss the assignment as a class), should we ban their use? I don't want the phones going off in class, and I don't want them talking on the phone in class, but if a student receives a call while their phone is on silent and they quietly leave to take the call and come back a little later, is there any harm in that?  At the end of the day, the student is responsible for the missed information.  I started thinking about this after I overheard some students complaining about another teacher's policy on cell phones (the teacher in question collects them if they're caught using them and gives them back at the end of class).  From their (young) perspective, they see nothing wrong with using their phones, so long as they are doing their work and not interrupting the class in any way.  Thoughts?

[elsie]

How big is the class? The smaller the class, the more distracting it is.

[tamiam]

As a mom who went to grad school in her 40's, the only time my cell phone ever went off in class had to do with child care issues...there was no way I was going to turn the thing off so some arrogant professor could control my ability to take care of my life.

I found, as a mid-career professional, that many of the things that universities do show such an incredible lack of respect for students. From charging me $50 to replace a parking sticker when I bought a new car (well, we can't have people getting new stickers and giving the old ones to their friends) to refusing to accept e-mailed assignments (well, the department has costs for printing, and it's just too hard for me to read on the computer screen, so you need to drive 50 miles for no other reason than to hand in several pieces of paper to me), to ridiculous "no cell phones in the classroom" policies, I hated the infantilism of being a student again. Hated it. We treat these young adults like s*** in so many ways.

end rant.

[mended_drum]

All of my classes have 18 or fewer students; getting up to answer text messages or phone calls during class discussion is extremely distracting.  My students are absolutely banned from so much as touching their phones in class unless I receive notice from the dean that a close relative is seriously ill or injured.

[concordancia]

I told my freshpeeps to follow movie theater rules. I think both I and the rest of the students deserve at least that much respect. Even for students who keep the cell phone on in case of emergencies, there is no reason that it cannot be on vibrate.

As for the parking sticker: that is part of being an adult, not a child. Many businesses, apartment complexes and HOAs also charge for replacement stickers.

[dismalist]

When cell phones go off in my classes, I always say out loud: "Please say hello from me!" After a while, all get it.

[cc_alan]

As long as a student is not overly distracted with their cell phone in class (i.e., they may check it occasionally or may send a text after they have finished an in-class assignment and they have a free moment before we come back together to discuss the assignment as a class), should we ban their use? I don't want the phones going off in class, and I don't want them talking on the phone in class, but if a student receives a call while their phone is on silent and they quietly leave to take the call and come back a little later, is there any harm in that?  At the end of the day, the student is responsible for the missed information.  I started thinking about this after I overheard some students complaining about another teacher's policy on cell phones (the teacher in question collects them if they're caught using them and gives them back at the end of class).  From their (young) perspective, they see nothing wrong with using their phones, so long as they are doing their work and not interrupting the class in any way.  Thoughts?

There's a big part of the problem. While the student may think that pulling the phone out, checking it, texting a reply, and then putting the phone away is not a distraction, the professor may disagree.

I think students need to keep in mind that they are free to disagree with a policy but the professor is the one in charge. And if a student strongly disagrees, then the student can-

1. Go to the professor.

2. Go to the dean (if #1 doesn't work).

Your post suggests a limited-use policy. Fine. Feel free to implement it in your classroom. I tell my students that phones may not audibly ring in class (or I get very snarky). But if they are waiting for something important and it's on silent mode, when it goes off they can quietly step out of the classroom/lab to deal with it and then return. I have very few students misuse this policy in my classes (<35 students) and its rarely a serious distraction.

I think tamiam's situation is different and reasonable. It is not the same thing as a random cellphone buzzing.

Alan

[ursula]

When cell phones go off in my classes, I always say out loud: "Please say hello from me!" After a while, all get it.

When one goes off in my class, I answer it.  Last time this happened was in a grad class, and I had a nice chat with the student's father about how she should be paying attention in class and not getting phone calls (his view).

[dismalist]

When cell phones go off in my classes, I always say out loud: "Please say hello from me!" After a while, all get it.

When one goes off in my class, I answer it.  Last time this happened was in a grad class, and I had a nice chat with the student's father about how she should be paying attention in class and not getting phone calls (his view).

Yo!

[vardahilwen]

I explain my cell phone policy on the first day of class.  They must be turned off and put away, and remain in their bookbags during class time.  If they are expecting an emergency call, they can set it to "vibrate" and step into the hall to take the call.

It's not a matter of being mean or dictatorial.  I explain that the cell phone is a device which allows them to talk to people outside the classroom, and I don't feel it is necessary to talk to their friends outside the classroom during our class time.  They all enrolled in this class from 10:00-12:00 (or whatever), which constitutes a commitment to be there, physically and mentally, during that time.  They owe that to each other and to me.

I have heard of profs answering students' phones if they ring, or taking them away, but I don't do that.  I like to maintain a positive vibe in my classroom, and I try never to do punitive things to my students.  Once I kindly explain my policy on cell phones, I never have a problem.  Occasionally one will ring, but the student is embarrassed and shuts it off right away.

The classes I teach are heavy on speeches and presentations, and so this is especially important.  I give them an extra reminder on those days - the person at the front of the room is nervous, and a ringing phone in the middle of your presentation will really throw you off.  You wouldn't start a conversation with the person next to you during someone's presentation, would you?  And if you are texting during someone's presentation, they look out into the audience and see that, and it is very disheartening to see that you don't have somebody's attention.

I find that students tend to rise to my expectations when it comes to classroom etiquette.  I try to create an atmosphere of respect, and haven't had problems.

[msmicrobe]

I tell my students to turn their phones off unless they are expecting an urgent call etc. I explain tonight's dinner plans can wait, but if grandma's in the hospital ICU, that's different. Then I ask them to sit near an exit and take the call outside. Sometimes, the real world requires us to be available in class time. I get that.

I practice what I preach. There have been a couple of times I have had to take a call on my cell phone! I took it to class with me, explained I was waiting for a call back from the pediatrician, and that this is life as a working parent. We do the best we can. Once, I didn't get a call back until later, another time I did and took the call while they waited, then apologized again for the necessity.

I occasionally have a student's phone go off, but they dive for it immediately and are usually embarrassed. I only remind them to turn cell phones off on exam days. For the most part, it's not a problem.

[anon99]

I have a similar policy to a few others.  If you are expecting an urgent call (family/friend in hospital, sick relative, etc), put the phone on vibrate, sit where you can easily get up and leave quietly and let me know before class you might be getting a call.  Otherwise, you can go 50-90 minutes without talking or texting your friends.  Most of my classes are lecture format and I tell the students if they come to class, I assume they are there to learn and expect them to pay attention.

Seems to work for me.

[compliteacher]

To answer elsie's question: the class is an English class with 22 people in it.  I have struggled with this over the years, because I find a harsh approach to cell phone use garners harsh criticism at the end of the semester in evaluations (ESPECIALLY from students in their 30s and 40s like tamiam, expressing the same view that they feel they are being treated worse than infants), whereas I absolutely go ballistic (in my mind!) when a student's phone goes off during lecture. If it were the simple hum of a vibrating phone it would be one thing, but a lot of today's kids put really loud music ringtones on their phones, which garners "Awww, I love that song!" from about half the class, and causes a huge distraction for the next 30 seconds until the student finds the phone in their purse and shuts it off--it throws me off. I want to strike a healthy balance between respecting students and having students respect me and their peers.

[helpful]

I say just the same as I say to student who keep their ipod thingys in their ears -- turn them off. Or at least put the cell on vibrate.

Sorry,when there were no cell phones, what did people do? They waited until class was over.

[sciencephd]

Banning cell phones is not treating them like children.  Asserting a constant need for cell phone access is childish, especially from 30-40 year olds.  If you're that busy or "needed", drop the class.