Skip to main content

Bring Your Computer to Class Day

Copyright By John Orlando, PhD

Our student newspaper recently ran a story about students bringing their cell phones and computers to class. Not surprisingly, all of the teachers interviewed were against the practice on the grounds that these devices distracted students from class material. Some went so far as to forbid students from using them in class, although you have to wonder if they can really enforce such a rule.


I was interviewed in the next issue of the newspaper and mentioned that I don't object to computers and cell phones in class at all. In fact, I wonder if we should be encouraging students to bring them to class. For one, students will eventually be entering the working world where these devices are ubiquitous. Look at any business meeting and you will find everyone with smart phones or laptops. The restriction on their use amounts to telling students that they need to go back to using pen and paper for notetaking, like the 60's. We are preparing students for a world that no longer exists.

But more importantly, I'm using the devices to increase student participation. This idea occurred to me when a student asked a factual question in class that I couldn't answer off the top of my head. A few minutes later another student volunteered the answer, which she had looked up on her smart phone.

At that point I started telling students that they could bring their digital devices to class, but if they did they must be prepared to do research on the spot. For instance, I might say "Jerry, in what year did the Tuskegee Syphilis Study end?," requiring him to research the answer for us.

This policy makes students collaborators in the learning process. It's too easy to fall into the trap of believing that only teachers have valuable knowledge for students. While we may be the primary experts in our classroom, there is no reason why students cannot offer up information to advance the discussion.

I'm sure that the smart phones and laptops are a distraction at times, and no doubt students are checking text messages (email is passé among today's students, in case you haven't heard), and Facebook. But digital devices can also make them more engaged in the material, and can be of particular benefit to shy students who are afraid of saying something dumb if they speak up. This is not a concern when they are reporting someone else's research.

So instead of fighting the digital movement, try treating it as a collaborator in the learning process and a way to get all of your students involved in class.

What do you think about computers in the classroom? As always, I encourage your comments, criticisms, and cries of outrage in the comments section of the blog.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Micahel Eaton: Biographical Sketch

Michael Eaton was the fourth pastor of Lusaka Baptist Church from 1976 to 1977. He was a good expository preacher/teacher and prolific writer of many Christian books including commentaries on a number of books of the Bible. Michael Eaton was born in 1941. He came from a very ordinary family in London. He became a Christian (late 1950s) when he was a teenager through a youth group in an Evangelical Anglican Church. The Billy Graham campaigns in London may also have played some part in his salvation. He did his Bachelor of Divinity at Tyndale House Cambridge. He then entered the ministry as a curate (assistant minister) at an Anglican church in Surrey, England. In 1967, he resigned from the Anglican ministry on theological grounds and joined an Evangelical Free Church in south-west London. In March 1969 he moved to Zambia where he and his wife Jenny joined Lusaka Baptist Church and later became a deacon and an elder. From early days in the church he taught an adu...

Joyous Celebration

One of the "to do things" I have always wanted to do since I started going to South Africa in 2004 was to watch Joyous Celebration perform live. Who is Joyous Celebration? Joyous Celebration is a gospel music outfit of local South African and international artists that have produced gospel CDs and DVDs since 1994. Joyous Celebration is a dream that was born when Jabu Hlongwane, Lindelani Mkhize and Mthunzi Namba who had met in concerts and conventions in and around Durban toyed around the idea of collaborating. In 1994 a show dubbed Joyous Celebration was held to  celebrate the peaceful transition of South Africa when it became independent.  Each year since 1994 Joyous Celebration has been releasing an album as a CD and DVD around March/April. The release is followed by tours in various South African cities. Since 2004 I have made sure I have collected all the CDs that have been released to-date, the last being Joyous 17 (a triple CD offering) and double DVD offering. T...

Remembering Oliver Mtukudzi



My first encounter with Oliver Mtukudzi’s fondly known as Tuku was in the late 90’s. My workmate at Mpelembe Secondary School, Kanyampa Manda would speak highly of Tuku’s music. This made to start buying his audio tapes and video cassettes and later his CDs and DVDs. 


 My Favorite Tracks 
 Tuku’s music was simple, clear and direct. He loved to engage with various social issues affecting communities in his own country and in Africa. Some of my favorite tracks are: 

 Todii:  (What shall we do?). In this song Mtukudzi reflects on the challenge faced by communities as a result of the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The song gives cadence and sympathy to those who provide care. At the same time it magnifies how despicable those in positions of authority are for violating their responsibility. My other favorite tracks are Mabasa which talks of the anguish of losing a loved one, more so when not only you but even others have lost their loved one. Who will help the ...