One criticism leveled at bring-your-own-device initiatives
is the distraction they’re assumed to cause in the classroom. A professor from
the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, conducted a study showing the assumption is probably right.
The survey found more than 90% of the students admitted
using their device in class for nonclass activities. Students said they used their
devices for texting (86%), checking the time (79%), checking e-mails (68%),
social networking (66%), and web surfing (38%). Eight percent even admitted to
using their devices in class to play games.
“When college students multitask with digital devices
in classrooms, research indicates it may hamper their ability to pay
attention,” Barney McCoy, associate professor of broadcasting at UN-L, wrote in his report. “This behavior, research
suggests, has become more habitual, automatic, and distracting.”
However, the students also said they saw staying
connected (70%), avoiding boredom (55%), and doing related classwork (49%) as
an advantage to using their devices during class.
“I don’t think students necessarily think it’s
problematic,” McCoy said in an article for eCampus News. “They think it’s part of their lives. It’s become automatic
behavior on the part of so many people—they do it without even thinking about
it.”
Just 9% of the students favored a ban on having their
devices in the classroom and 54% said it was reasonable for the instructor to
have a policy for their use. They just don’t want it strictly enforced: 65%
said they felt a warning was sufficient for a first offense.
