Smartphones can be a positive addition to the classroom

The prevalence of college students’ smartphones is well known. Less known is how this ubiquitous communication device provides professors with unparalleled opportunities to improve the effectiveness of learning in their classrooms.

Some professors may be annoyed when they observe students using their smartphones for personal reasons during class, hiding them under desks, books or papers. This may result in professors using class time to confront these students in an effort to encourage them to pay attention.

Some professors ask students to leave the room, while others deduct points from the final grade for lack of participation. This approach is like a homeowner who tries everything to stop water from seeping into a basement but keeps failing when the right thing to do is to let the water flow in, successfully channel it to a drain, and pump it out to water the lawn.

Other professors may just ignore students using their smartphones, but that doesn’t work either. Students using their smartphones are not present to learn. They may think they can pay attention to professors and use their phones for personal activities simultaneously, however, students who multitask earn lower grades. Human beings cannot multitask; they shift attention from one task to another.

The best discipline today is the same as it was 43 years ago, namely, a good lesson plan. Lectures and classroom activities designed to incorporate students’ need to use their smartphones may yield positive results. Encouraging students to use their smartphones at varied times during class for educational purposes engages them and keeps them engaged.

Smartphones are excellent tools offering plenty of opportunity to improve learning. Students may search for information pertinent to classroom discussions. The input added to discussions from 15-25 students is enlightening. Professors may use newspaper columns as case studies. Professors direct students to current newspaper columns that relate to the subject matter for that particular class. Students get live up-to-date information regarding cases that bring the lecture information alive.

I also encourage students to take pictures of the information I write on the board and information projected on the screen that is not in the textbook. This allows students to pay attention instead of trying to take notes of everything that I write on the board or present on the screen.

Students are less likely to use their smartphones for inappropriate uses knowing that they will be able to use their smartphones during class. I am aware that some students may use their smartphones for other reasons, however they quickly return to the task. Students know they are important, and their input is essential to maximize their learning experience.

If professors embrace smartphone technology, the opportunities to advance students’ learning are endless.