{"id":562,"date":"2015-12-06T17:52:29","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T22:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=562"},"modified":"2015-12-06T17:52:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-06T22:52:29","slug":"computers-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=562","title":{"rendered":"Computers in the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s New York Times<\/a> tells us about the pernicious effect digital devices can have on our lives, saying that our \u201cdigital life keeps us hooked with an infinite entertainment stream as its default setting. Tech companies often set it up that way.\u201d Referred to as growth hacking, it\u2019s the continual testing and tweeking to better hook consumers and keep them coming back. It can be rewarding, although it can also\u00a0become excessive or an obsession.<\/p>\n

I see the result of this in my classroom almost every day with students who are online instead of in class. \u00a0I haven\u2019t yet reached the point of prohibiting phones, pads, and laptops from my class, but I\u2019m getting close. Since every classroom now has Wi-Fi it\u2019s not initially clear if a student is taking notes or has mentally checked out of class. Eventually I can tell, though. Excessive typing, looking at the screen but not typing at all, and smiling or laughing at the wrong time are all giveaways that the student is physically present\u00a0but mentally absent. The problem is that they don\u2019t know that they\u2019re absent, they think they can multi-task and not miss anything. Last semester I added the following to my syllabus, to no avail.<\/p>\n

Numerous studies have shown two things about note taking on computers. First, multitasking (such as taking notes while being on social media or answering email) inevitably results in lower quality of notes and reduced information retention, as described here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>. Second, the screens of students who are multitasking are irresistible distractions to other students who can see the screen, as described here<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m not a Luddite or anti-technology (case-in-point: this blog) but students and educators need to find a way to stay focused on the course material. It\u2019s great that my students can get online during class. If I go to a site as a demonstration or example, they can follow along and bookmark the site for later. However, when students don\u2019t understand or acknowledge the ways in which they\u2019re sabotaging their own education, something has to change. For my part, I\u2019d love to be able to have control over the Wi-Fi network in my classroom so that the only sites my students can visit are those on my preapproved list. Does such a system or software exist?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s New York Times tells us about the pernicious effect digital devices can have on our lives, saying that our \u201cdigital life keeps us hooked with an infinite entertainment stream as its default setting. Tech companies often set it up that way.\u201d Referred to as growth hacking, it\u2019s the continual testing and tweeking to better … Continue reading Computers in the Classroom<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gZSw-94","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":640,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=640","url_meta":{"origin":562,"position":0},"title":"The Impact of Computer Usage on Academic Performance","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"May 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"For over a decade research has shown that allowing students to use computers to take notes in the classroom has negative effects, including\u00a0a lower quality of notes and reduced information retention, as described here, here and here. \u00a0Even students who don't use computers are so distracted by\u00a0the screens of students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":586,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=586","url_meta":{"origin":562,"position":1},"title":"Who Needs A Lighting Designer? Schools!","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"January 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Studio T+L is the theatre consultant on the theatre in a new school here in New York. During an early meeting with the architect I explained that I prefer to have the dimming and control system for the stage lighting also control the house lighting, so I\u2019d like to schedule\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3544,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=3544","url_meta":{"origin":562,"position":2},"title":"147 Countries Agree to Eliminate Fluorescent Lamps by 2027","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"December 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a program of the United Nations with delegates from at least 150 countries, is dedicated to improving global health by phasing out the use of mercury in manufacturing, banning new mercury mines, and limiting mercury emissions. \u00a0 Last month, 147 countries (out of a global\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lamps"","block_context":{"text":"Lamps","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":382,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=382","url_meta":{"origin":562,"position":3},"title":"“Celebrating Pratt Authors” Comments","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"May 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are my comments from last night's \"Celebrating Pratt Authors\" event. \u00a0 Let me say a few words about my book and than I\u2019ll move on. One of the things that drive me to write \u201cDesigning With Light\u201d is missing content in other lighting design books. I come from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":484,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=484","url_meta":{"origin":562,"position":4},"title":"Start of the Semester Fun","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"August 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Tomorrow is my first day of class at Pratt, so here we go again. \u00a0I know that this shouldn't become a thing, and I'm really trying but I can't help myself! \u00a0Here's another video of a song related to light and featuring frightening hairstyles. \u00a0This time it's Styx singing Lights\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Back to School\"","block_context":{"text":"Back to School","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?tag=back-to-school"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=92","url_meta":{"origin":562,"position":5},"title":"The Best Light?","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"January 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In class yesterday one of my students, thinking about a project she had recently completed, asked, \"What's the best light for a hair salon?\" \u00a0I'm certain she was hoping I would tell her exactly what lamp technology and\/or lamp style to use. \u00a0Of course, it's not that simple. So the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Color"","block_context":{"text":"Color","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":563,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions\/563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}