Etiquette in the Wireless Classroom

Parents Forum
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<p>Binx - great post!</p>

<p>soccerguy: From your response, I get the impression that you are a mature and responsible student, in other words an adult, who is aware of your own needs and respects those of others around you. After all, don't most breaches of etiquette, in and out of the classroom, have as much to do with attitude as well as action? Obviously, one persons' idea of disruptive may be quite different from that of another yet the bottom line really is a sense of community, common decency, and old-fashioned courtesy. We share space with others - that now includes classroom space that is hooked up to wireless tech and a zillion learning opportunities as well as new shades on age-old paths to space out and zone out. </p>

<p>So, maybe in time colleges will have to institute formal "rules of engagement" for the wireless classroom to help both professors and students get the most out of the college learning experience since, like Miami University most HEIs proudly offer different types of classrooms to meet the needs of faculty and students - that "include classrooms in which every student has a computer, multimedia classrooms in which the instructor has a full range of technologies to enhance the classroom experience, and classrooms where equipment can be brought in upon request."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.miami.muohio.edu/technologyguide/academic.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.miami.muohio.edu/technologyguide/academic.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Gasp! I cannot begin to imagine the reaction I would get from my S or D if I showed up in their classroom!</p>

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<p>I think the kids on Facebook et al during class sessions are merely preparing themselves for careers as our future leaders.</p>

<p>I sat in on a legislative session recently (in a state which shall remain unnamed to protect the <em>innocent</em>?):eek:. My seat in the gallery behind most of the legislators provided a wonderful birds-eye view of their legislative activities. I was impressed to see so many of them using current technology.</p>

<p>Closer views of their laptop screens, however, showed an unusual number tuned to eBay, iTunes.... whatever.</p>

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<p>I remember asking my intro to psych. teacher if she would please start actually lecturing on a college level, because listening to her lectures was tedious and boring and made me feel like I was in a special ed. high school class. Kids would constantly interrupt her to ask her to spell the names of people and concepts. (eg. "Professor, could you please spell Freud?") Anyone who had done the assigned reading should have already known that info. or could easily check after class in the textbook. It was maddening. She didn't change her style so I tuned her out. I wish I could have had the internet to entertain me.</p>

<p>Basically, students who care will do what is necessary to do well in the course. If the professor makes his own lectures irrelevant, then is the student to blame for not taking them seriously?</p>

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<p>Etiquette and multitasking at Digital U doesn't just apply to the wireless classroom but also to the university library - a place where cell phones, iPods and laptops are ubiquitous standard equipment. According to the 2006 National Retail Federation's Back-to-College Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, last year parents and students shelled out about $10.46 billion on electronics purchases - a 27.5 percent increase over last year's projections. </p>

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The evolution of technology has made college students the masters of multitasking. They easily balance talking on their cell phones while sending e-mail from their laptops with their iPods playing their favorite tunes in the background. And don't forget that the television is likely on and they might be watching CNN to catch the latest in current events.</p>

<p>"Almost everyone is now constantly connected. They are constantly connected to other people, constantly connected to information,'' said Diana Oblinger, a vice president with EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit group focusing on higher education and technology.</p>

<p>Students use technology to set up class schedules, complete and submit homework, and pay for snacks from the vending machine. They use iPods or MP3 players to bring their favorite music wherever they go, and cell phones ensure they are never farther away than a phone call or text message...</p>

<p>With wireless access to the Internet ubiquitous, every corner of a campus can be a place of learning. The result has been that students stopped using their computers in the isolation of their dorm room or a computer lab, said Jean Boland, Morrisville's vice president for information technology services.</p>

<p>Morrisville went wireless in 1999, and students with laptops gather in building lobbies, the dining hall or the college's Internet cafe, Boland said.</p>

<p>Oblinger said this mobility and quick access to information on the Web has changed many campus libraries from a place of silence to a meeting place.</p>

<p>Michele Meyer, an Ithaca College junior, said she brings her laptop to the library to do work. But sometimes she uses it to watch her favorite television shows posted online. The Internet connection at the library is faster than in her dorm room, she said.</p>

<p>And at most libraries, gone are the days of students smuggling food or drink inside. Many campus libraries now have cafes. Suzanne Thorin, Syracuse University's University Librarian and Dean of the Library, said SU is planning to open a cafe this summer.</p>

<p>Despite the wealth of information on the Web, campus libraries are still used as a research resource, Thorin said. She recently found herself turning to books when researching Melvin Dewey, the creator of the book classification system called the Dewey Decimal System.</p>

<p>"I ended up crawling around the stacks and pulling out materials,'' Thorin said. "There was just practically nothing (on the Internet) ... It was interesting because the richness of what I found out about him was in books.''

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<p><a href="http://www.newhouse.com/digital-u-how-technology-transforms-the-college-experience-6.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.newhouse.com/digital-u-how-technology-transforms-the-college-experience-6.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Just the other day my son and I were IMing for several minutes; each of us chatting about our weekend and an upcoming trip. About 10 minutes later my son says, "Got to go, class is over." I am thinking he didn't go to his first class and needed to leave home for his next class. No, he was in class on his laptop! I had no idea when he IMed me first that he was in class; I didn't even know he took his laptop with him.</p>

<p>BTW, this is a grad student not a new freshman!</p>