April 4th, 2023

Quote 1: Main point

“Experiments from Gazzaley’s lab have documented that, while older adults can fully retain their ability to focus their attention, their capacity to block out irrelevant distractions diminishes with age”

This quote from James Lang’s piece demonstrates the idea that distraction is just part of the human experience, it comes pre-installed. The quote also sticks out to me because I grew up hearing older folks saying that the new generation has the “memory of a goldfish” and that it’s all due to “that blasted internet”. I feel like a lot of blame is put on to technology for inattention in the classroom. While it is true that cell phones and laptops can cause distraction it is important to note that students can get distracted by anything. I remember being in the back of my high school English Lit classroom getting distracted by bouncing a spring I found on the desk. Students are humans and humans all have a certain level of focus that may get overpowered. This focus or willpower is independent of screens. Students are going to all have different levels of willpower and ability to focus and even that will fluctuate depending on the day. Getting rid of phones in the classroom may eliminate one distraction but that does not get rid of all distractions. Instead of focusing on eliminating distractions, it may be better to spend time and effort on making the lessons more engaging and interactive for students. It reminds me a lot of this image by @saraharnoldhall on Twitter.

Quote 2: the question

“The cellphone is a tangible symbol of teen’s independence.  This item’s power with my students makes it a useful instrument for getting the behavior needed in class.”

This quote from Rob Sterner got me asking a question I find myself asking a lot “Why not John Locke it?” This question is in reference to John Locke’s theory of the “social contract”. I like to apply this concept to classroom rules. When introducing the rules of a classroom I like to go over the guidelines with the students and ask if they agree with the rules or not. Maybe even ask them to come up with their own rules for a policy. Why not do the same with the phone policy? Have students come up with a list of possible ways to use their phones in the classroom and when it is appropriate to use them.

Quote 3: Worth exploring more

“Perhaps it’s not in my curriculum as an English teacher, but it’s a real-world skill that will impact my student’s lives long after they leave my classroom.  So I get informed and share my knowledge.”

History as an area of study is often slow to adapt to new advances. The same can be said about curriculum as it takes highly educated teachers to fully put together a comprehensive curriculum for a whole state. That is why it often falls onto individual teachers to implement technology and such into the curriculum. A student may not remember when they learned that the British were defeated at the battle of Guilford court house but they may remember how they used their phone to find an army song from the American Revolution. It is worth looking into how to use technology to interact with history so our students can do so in the future.