Quote #1, A Major Theme: 

“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.”

  • The Distracted Classroom

Lang points out that we don’t consider ourselves distracted when we are on our phones at home, and that there are many people in classrooms that are neurodiverse, or otherwise need accommodations, who use technology as a helpful tool, rather than a hindrance to learning. He maintains that technology is a hindrance in some cases due to our limited cognitive control capabilities, which do not allow us to complete the complex goals we have evolved to set for ourselves in an efficient manner.

Quote #2, A Question:

“So I use this opportunity to teach my students that those little jubes and taunts online —especially if they escalate to harassment—will come back to haunt them.”

  • 4 Things You’ll Miss By Banning Cellphones in Your Classroom

The question I was left with upon reading this article was how a teacher could go about instigating a conversation like this. I remember having multiple teachers stop their class to talk about the dangers of the internet, and it often came across as “preachy,” out of touch, or completely out-of-the-blue. What should the game plan be? When is it appropriate to have this conversation, and what type of language could an educator use to make this talk seem less chastising, and more from a place of genuine concern and education?

Quote #3, A Point Worth Exploring: 

“But when I reconsidered the experience through the lens provided by Gazzaley and Rosen, a new set of questions began to emerge: What goal had I established for Kate’s learning that day? How had I created an environment that supported her ability to achieve that goal? And perhaps most important — assuming that the class had a learning goal that mattered for her — did she know about it?

  • The Distracted Classroom

I remember having undiagnosed ADHD, and having my teachers get so angry at me for being distracted. On my phone, staring out the window, doodling. It wasn’t helpful for them to get angry. I was interested in the lesson, and I love to learn; all it did was make me feel as though I was a bad student, and I became far less engaged in the class. Re-shaping the questions you ask, taking the blame off of students, and instead wondering how you can better the goals that you set for the class, and trying to create a more engaging learning environment, could have been really helpful for me as a student, and I feel as though more teachers and professors could benefit from this kind of thinking.