“The Distracted Classroom” by James M. Lang
“After all, we don’t consider ourselves distracted when we are scrolling through Facebook on a Friday night with nothing else to do – we are only distracted when we are scrolling through Facebook while trying to grade papers.”
I enjoy looking at Facebook and other social media sites during my free time. However, lately I’ve been working to limit my screen time on the apps so I can spend more time completing schoolwork or other leisure activities, including those that do not involve screens. Social media is a great resource to keep up with friends and family and current events, but spending too much time scrolling can have negative consequences. Not only does it use up a lot of freetime, but it has been linked to mental health disorders and dangerous behaviors. While there are good aspects to social media, users need to be cautious of the negative effects. Lang argues social media is not usually viewed as a distraction when one is browsing during their free time, however, hours of scrolling and tapping is very time consuming.
“They argue that distraction actually arises from a conflict between two fundamental features of our brain: our ability to create and plan high-level goals versus our ability to control our minds and our environment as we take steps to complete those goals.”
In this article, Lang argues that cell phones are not the only distraction that people face when completing a task. He says distractions can come from outside sources such as a bird at the window, or mentally, like when a student is moving to another assignment. It’s important to note that a distraction can come from a variety of sources, some of which can be controlled and others can not.
“4 Things You’ll Miss by Banning Cellphones in Your Classroom” by Rob Sterner
“Who can control that desire to check Twitter, Snapchat a friend, and ignore that buzz in the pocket until later? By observing how students interact with their cellphones, I can see which students are more mature and who can control their desires and not let those desires control them.”
Sterner is arguing that by allowing students to keep their phone in the classrooms allows him to observe his students behaviors. He can more easily determine which students are more focused on their classroom education and which students are easily distracted by cell phone notifications. This can help him measure the effort he perceives his students are placing in the classwork. I turn my cell phone on Do Not Disturb when I am attending classes and check my messages on breaks between classes.
