By Bianca Chan, TLS staff writer
While technology in the classroom has provided students and instructors seemingly endless channels to learn from, it also presents issues when it comes to retaining focus, weaning distraction, and even reliability.
For Carleton University English professor Franny Nudelman, the answer to this dilemma was simple: create a device-free environment to increase student-instructor engagement and generate a livelier atmosphere.
“From my perspective, this policy has been transformative,” says Nudelman. “We are able to learn and accomplish so much more without devices.”
“I had found that with devices my students were distracted, and as a result I was distracted too. They were shopping and checking Facebook while I talked, and this drained the energy right out of the classroom,” she says.
However, David Dean, a history professor at Carleton, says that his experience of using technology in the classroom has had a different effect.
“Technology empowers students to learn on their own and in groups, and to engage with sources outside the classroom while in the class,” he says.
Given his field, Dean says, technology has provided the opportunity to view and study countless databases of texts, images, sound and videos. What’s more, he says, is the ability to bring in professors from around the world right into the classroom using video software such as Skype.
“Even more brilliant was following one of my former students – now an employee of the Human Rights Museum – as she walked through it giving the class of over 80 a guided tour,” he says.
It’s certainly easy to see both the benefits and the drawbacks of having technology in the classroom. And while Nudelman’s perspective, and subsequent policies, differ from Dean’s, she is also sure to note that she’s “not a purist” either.
In fact, the English professor uses technology in her lectures, like most do, but she says that, “the place of technology in the classroom depends a lot on how one teaches, as well as what one teaches.”
For instance, Nudelman states she isn’t interested in teaching specific content, nor is mastering the content her aim. This is why she says she doesn’t give exams. Rather, she focuses on guiding her students on learning how to analyze and discuss texts. Because of this structure, she says, there is really no use for a laptop to take notes on.
Though, on the same token, Dean points out that banning technology in the classroom can lead to a privacy issue. Some students, like those registered with the Paul Menton Centre, might have special needs that require them to use laptops in classrooms, he says.
“If you banned technology – i.e., laptops – but made exceptions for them, as you have to, then you are signaling to the whole class that this particular student has a special need and that violates Carleton’s regulations about faculty respecting student privacy.”
While the debate is far from decided, most professors can agree that technology use in the classroom can be incredibly beneficial, while also being hopelessly distracting.
What is your take on technology in the classroom? Let us know by leaving a comment below or emailing edc@carleton.ca.