According to those in the classroom, one example of disruptive classroom behavior is caused by phone usage. While real classrooms may not be as pictured above, professors have to deal with the distraction of cell phones on a daily basis. Caelin Bragg
Emma Barkley
Lantern Staff
Cell phones in the classroom has became more of a problem in schools everywhere. They have caused students to pay more attention to their phones than their professors. At Butler Community College, both students and teachers have found cell phones in the classroom to be a distraction.
Professor of English Michael Cissell has been one professor at Butler who has found cell phones distracting and has seen the development of cell phone use since the beginning of his educational career. In the past three to five years, he has observed that it has gotten worse. Cissell has tried different methods with cell phone use such as trying to ban them completely, completely allowing them and ignoring them. This semester, he is compromising with students and letting them use their phones when they have down time and asks them to put them away when he is lecturing.
“I don’t find them disruptive in a sense that if there is one or two students, they’re not really causing a lot of problems, they’re keeping to themselves and they’re quiet, but the problem occurs for them because they can miss certain instructions,” Cissell said.
Freshman Kalie Jones, who attends classes on the Andover campus, explains that her professors do not allow her to use her cell phone in class. According to Jones, there are no perks or disadvantages to using a cell phone in class. She does feel that there should be more breaks or professors should use cell phones as a learning opportunity.
“I do not find my cell phone a distraction because it does not make sound, and I am not affecting anyone else’s learning but mine,” Jones said.
An advantage to using cell phones in the class would be for learning purposes such as Kahoot. Kahoot is a game-based learning platform that helps students learn and prepare for an upcoming assignment or quiz. Freshman Connor Garcia says that Kahoot is a good way to engage students through cell phone use during class and productive too.
Cell phones can also be a distraction in class. Many students will get distracted by their phones especially when they have their cell phones out in front of them, and they see a notification pop up. The first instinct is to look at the notification instead of listening to a professor’s instructions. There are some students who are on their cell phones who keep quiet and to themselves, but there have also been students who are disruptive because of their cell phones by talking, laughing and sharing about what they have seen on social media.
“We can see what our friends are doing and talk to them quickly,” freshman Laken Kimball said. “Also, it makes me feel safe knowing that I can call someone if I needed them. There are a few disadvantages like everyone is on their phones nowadays. We are more attached to technology then ever and don’t get as much face-to-face interaction.”
