WSU Academic Technology Blog: Pr. Erica Morin on Cell phones

In-Class Research Activities with Cell Phones

Cell phone use during class time is infuriating. Our students struggle to disconnect from their phones for even 50-75 minutes. (I am guilty, too. I check my iPhone at least 500 times a day.) But cell phones are absolutely forbidden in my class. I have an incredibly strict NO PHONE ZONE policy. My syllabus reads, verbatim, “If I see, hear, or sense a cell phone during class time, the entire class gets a pop quiz immediately.” This policy has proven incredibly effective. Students are terrified of having a pop quiz and loath to incite the ire of all their classmates. Over the entire semester, I maybe give 1-2 quizzes across all my course sections, and I have never given more than one pop quiz to the same class. The lesson is learned the first time.

But I am not immune to arguments on the other side of the spectrum. Rather than enforcing “no phone zones,” some educational experts suggest embracing cell phones as valuable learning tools that put the entire Internet at students’ fingertips.[1] Smart phones have become so pervasive and ubiquitous, it might be easier and more beneficial to integrate such devices into the classroom, instead of fighting the “inevitable.”[2] Additionally, our students are growing more and more accustomed to (read: dependent upon) using technology, so they are comfortable with that learning platform.[3] Especially at larger institutions, like Texas Tech and Purdue, where I previously taught, mobile devices can be integrated into classroom participation and virtual discussions with programs like Socrative, Polls Everywhere, and HotSpot.[4] For larger classrooms where participation can be challenging, these apps allow students to ask and answer questions, offer feedback, and, generally, get involved, from the palm their hand. These apps are less necessary at Westfield State, perhaps, given our smaller class sizes, but they offer a glimpse at the educational possibilities of mobile devices.

I am not completely sold on the idea of cell phone use in the classroom for a number of reasons, however. First, I think they pose an enormous potential for distraction, even when very closely monitored. It only takes one text message or Tweet or Yak or Facebook notification to completely derail a student’s focus. The temptation to do other things often outweighs the ability of the instructor to maintain productive engagement within the specified activity. Second, I do not like the idea of our students further retreating into their cell phones and virtual worlds. Mobile devices and technology in the classroom should not be a substitute for them making eye contact, opening up their mouths, and speaking to each other.

I feel like I am already noticing a decline in conversational confidence and interpersonal skills among millennial students.[5] I am inclined to blame this trend, at least in part, on the never-ending ability of our students to interact virtually and anonymously via the Internet and Social Media. I want my students to talk, out loud, to one another, on a daily basis, so technology will never replace verbal discussion for me. Lastly, although smart phones are incredibly common, they are not universal. I do not want to marginalize lower-income and non-traditional students because they do not have or want the latest mobile device. As a result, I am wary of creating an assignment that “requires” a smart phone. In the past, I have brought my own smart phone, tablet, and laptop to the class, and encouraged students with multiple devices to share with their classmates and it has never been an issue. Or, as you will see below, you can ask the groups to designate one “researcher” in order to limit them to one phone per group. (Also, the other implicit hesitation underlying all this is the fact that the Wifi rarely works in my classroom, so actually connecting to the Internet may be a concern.)

With all that said, I am trying. I have created a few activities for my upper-level history courses that include the use of cell phones. Each activity is highly-structured and closely monitored, in order to keep students on track. I have experienced wonderful success with these activities, and I intend to repeat them, with a bit of tinkering, of course. I follow a simple formula. I have a Tuesday/Thursday schedule for my upper-level courses in which I generally give a lecture introducing and explain the content on Tuesday, and then we have a discussion and/or activity on Thursday. For these cell phone activities, students engage in a group discussion based on preassigned readings and then break out into small groups to research a specific topic related to the readings. Students use their smart phones or tablets as personal research tools. I will provide a few examples of how I use this format with several topics and an assessment of the results.

Course: U.S. Environmental History

Topic: National Park creation

This discussion falls chronologically near the Progressive Era and the growth of conservation and preservation ideas with Gifford Pinchot and John Muir. Students read an article [6] explaining the early rationale for national park creation, i.e. American desire to distinguish ourselves from Europe by highlighting our rich natural history and minimizing our short cultural history, as well as promoting natural beauty as a unifying source of national pride in the post-Civil War years. The article focuses on how the parks’ founders and greatest supporters highlighted the beauty and uniqueness of places like Yellowstone and Yosemite when they advocated for protection. We discuss the early national parks and how they correspond to cultural values and perceptions of beauty, including wild open spaces and spectacular natural features. Then I explain how preservation priorities changed in the 20th century. As scientific knowledge of ecosystems grew, some natural areas were set aside for biological diversity and unique species or features, rather than conventional ideas of natural beauty. Then I break the class (25-40) into groups of 2-4 students. I distribute the name of a national park to each group. I instruct them to look up the national park on their devices. On an accompanying worksheet, they need to identify the park location, describe the appearance, important natural features, and determine, to the best of their abilities, why it was protected. Some of the National Park examples given to the student groups are the Everglades, Petrified Forest, Guadalupe Mountains, Redwoods, Arches, Theodore Roosevelt, Kenai Fjords, Dry Tortugas, Death Valley, Saguaro, Joshua Tree, Congaree, and several more. While a few of these parks correspond to the original aesthetic, but most were preserved for aspects that were/are not considered traditionally beautiful, but offer unique biological, geological, archaeological, or ecological benefits. After students have researched each of their national parks and reached a conclusion about their reason for protection, we go around the room and share our findings.

Course: U.S. Constitutional History

Topic: The Bill of Rights in Modern Cases

This course covers the formation and evolution of the United States Constitution. This particular activity occurs late in the semester after students have thoroughly covered the historical background of the Bill of Rights and are prepared to discuss current Supreme Court cases related to these rights. Students are divided into partners or groups of three and given a piece of paper with a constitutionally-protected right written on it. (These rights are more specific than simply “freedom of speech.” They are better classified as “elaborated rights.” For example, it is difficult to say freedom of speech without specifically listing or explaining what that means in terms of more specific rights. Some of the “elaborated rights” protected under freedom of speech are protest speech in opposition to the government, obscenity and pornography, symbolic speech like flag burning, and recently, political speech in the form of campaign donations, to name just a few examples.) So each student group receives an “elaborated right,” then they are assigned to find an example of a recent Supreme Court decision that interpreted this right. The small groups use their phones or other devices to look up cases and complete a worksheet which lists the case name, case events, case decision, and contribution to our understanding of the right. Each pair shares the cases with the class and I create a cumulative list of current cases.

Course: Gender and the Environment

Topic: Hyper-masculinity in Advertisements Displaying Nature

This interdisciplinary course explores male and female interactions and representations related to the natural environment in U.S. history and incorporating global examples. Over the course of the semester, students examine the many, many ways in which nature is infused with gender connotations and/or connected to gendered values and attributes. Very frequently, the environment is feminized, especially in relation to “mother nature,” the language of conquest, and who cares about protecting nature. Conversely, representations of men in/and nature are often hyper-masculinized. Advertising is an especially rich source for examining this dichotomy. Many advertisements featuring men and nature are comically, stereotypically, shamelessly masculine. In this activity, students are split into pairs. They are instructed to find the best example of an advertisement (print or video) that combines nature and a representation of masculinity. Students share links to their findings on a previously-used online forum, like Blackboard Discussion or Google Docs. The results are informative, hilarious, and appalling. (My favorites are Dr. Pepper Ten,[7] Old Spice,[8] and various reality TV shows, like Ax Men, Mudcats, or Man vs. Wild.)

Assessment

I believe this simple formula can be incorporated into a wide range of courses. Basically, the instructor just needs to develop a specific topic of inquiry that is relevant for their curriculum. If students are provided with context, clear instructions, and a final deliverable to ensure accountability, they will be able to use their mobile devices for a productive classroom assignment. At the same time, the instructor must be vigilant. I have no patience for tomfoolery. The students have a task to complete and I monitor their progress closely. At the end, each group must share their findings with the class. If I catch any non-assignment activity, the quiz rule still stands (which students are informed of in advance).

In part, I think the success of these activities is because I am so strict with phones for 99% of the class. My students are accustomed to absolutely no cell phones. Ever. For any reason. End of story.

Therefore, when they are allowed to use their phones, it is a fun and exciting activity. They know that I trust them and most want to have this same opportunity or activity again in the future. As a result, engagement is high, noncompliance is almost nonexistent, and outcomes are awesome.

For me, though, the distraction and temptation of cell phones far outweighs the daily classroom value. I will not be adopting a “run what you brung” approach anytime soon.[9] But I do think that mobile devices can be valuable for limited classroom activities in highly structured settings with pre-existing rules.

Assistant Professor Erica Morin, History Department