One common complaint among faculty is what to do about the use of laptops and smartphones during class by students. On the one hand, these devices are powerful learning tools that enable students to have a world of knowledge at their fingertips that can be retrieved in an instant. It also enables them to take notes and have all their course material readily available.
But a major source of concern is that these devices also can be a source of distraction, taking student attention away from what is happening in the classroom to texting with friends, shopping, surfing the web, and so on.
So what should be done about this vexing issue of computers and smartphones? Should their use be banned, as this professor has decided to do? Or are there other ways to deal with them?
Discuss these questions at next UCITE session, Thursday, Jan. 15, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Herrick Room, on the ground floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library.
Pizza and sodas will be provided at the session. RSVP to ucite@case.edu.