Digitally Distracted: Learning With Laptops
When I first started teaching more than a decade ago, laptops were an exception, not the rule. I utilized a desktop computer to deliver content to students via slideshows and online media. It was par for the course for students to take notes by hand and to regularly visit the school library for information and research.
A few years later I began teaching at a private school with a 1:1 laptop environment. I reveled in the fact that I could connect with my students outside of the classroom through my class website. I no longer had to deliver information through outdated PowerPoints but could instead deliver content digitally.
I embraced technology as a teaching tool. My students created podcasts, movie trailers, and slideshows without commuting to a computer lab or completing projects at home.
However, educational trends tend to move in extremes. What began as a teaching tool quickly transformed into an over-reliance on computers in the classroom.
And, as per usual, schools embraced laptops in the classroom without first considering the research on digital distractions. Cognitively-speaking, students learn less when multitasking and coping with distractions.
Yet, when students have their laptops open during instruction, they are multitasking and distracted.
According to researchers Sanaa, Weston, Cepeda in their article “Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers”, research confirms the theory that “the degree of attention that is allotted to a task is directly related to the quality and quantity of information processed.”
When a laptop is open during class, teachers are competing with social media, email, You Tube, etc. When students are dividing their attention between a computer and a teacher, the computer will almost always win.
In the article, “Students are Better Off without a Laptop in the Classroom” from Scientific American, Cindy May cites research from scientists at Michigan State University. The scientists found students “spent almost 40 minutes out of every 100-minute class period using the internet for non-academic purposes, including social media, checking email, shopping, reading the news, chatting, watching videos, and playing games.”
For almost half of a class, students were distracted by the computers they were supposedly using for academic purposes. In fact, the researchers found that students spent less than five minutes using the internet for academics.
The researchers concluded their research with the suggestion that students should consider “going ‘old school,’ and adding one more item to their shopping wish lists: a good old fashioned spiral notebook.”
In a previous article, I cited research that supports students taking notes by hand rather than by computer. Students learn more when they are actively engaged in the note-taking process, which includes synthesizing content onto a page as opposed to an electronic document. This study further supports that students benefit by closing their laptops and writing by hand.
Researchers Sanaa, Weston, and Cepeda, reached similar conclusions and found that “participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower on a test compared to those who were not.”
Students might prefer to take notes on a laptop instead of by hand, but ultimately, the multitasking and distractions that the internet presents is a detriment to learning. Their results showed that multitasking impairs both factual and complex learning when learning is interrupted by multitasking and distraction. Further, their research unveiled the fact that peers can also pose a distraction to others when multitasking on their own devices.
Media multitasking is a relatively new phenomenon that is lending further credence to the questionable full integration of laptops into the classroom.
In a recent study researchers noted there is a need to further investigate media multitasking and its impact on learning. In the abstract, the authors noted, “on average, 29% of that time [an average of 7.5 hours per day] is spent juggling multiple media streams simultaneously (ie, media multitasking) (“Media Multitasking and Cognitive, Psychological, Neural, and Learning Differences”).
This is occurring outside of the classroom as well as in, and although students are becoming more adept at media multitasking, this does not mean that classrooms are the place to hone this practice.
The authors further noted: “research from multiple parts of the world demonstrates that students, while attempting to learn academic information, frequently engage with media not relevant to the task at hand.”
It is unquestionably clear that an open laptop encourages multitasking and distraction. Although students are becoming more adept at media multitasking, research still supports that open laptops in a classroom environment detracts from learning.
In an attempt to engage students and derail distractions, some educators have banned computers in the classroom. Professor Susan Dynarski cites research from York University, McMaster University, and the United States Military Academy for propelling her decision to ban laptops in her college classrooms.
She states in her article, “Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or a Meeting”: “The research is unequivocal: Laptops distract from learning, both for users and for those around them.”
While I agree with this sentiment, I hesitate to take an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to education. Our job as educators is to find a happy medium, a compromise that works for all involved.
Instead, teachers can work with students to create ground rules or a laptop etiquette policy that will ensure students are both learning and utilizing the information available at their fingerprints.
As researchers Sanaa, Weston, and Cepeda note, “teachers are in a position to inform students about negative educational outcomes of laptop misuse, as well as to compare and contrast their views with the views of their students.” Teachers are thought-leaders; it is our job to model for students the ability to think outside-of-the-box and creatively solve problems.
Create a Laptop Policy With Students
Including students in policy discussions creates buy-in. Just like adults want to be included in decision-making processes to feel invested, students have a similar need to be heard and valued.
The Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo suggests to “explain how off-task technology-use negatively affects the learning environment not just for them, but for their classmates. Don’t try to establish a class policy that you can’t enforce.”
Teachers and students can work together to create ground rules for laptop use in class. Explain to students the research on multitasking and distractions. Support ideas with research and evidence to ensure students understand it is in their best interest to manage distractions, and that the policy is not just another edict from the system.
Policy examples include only using laptops when actively engaged in finding and compiling information or completing assignments that involve tech such as creating movies and/or audio. In addition, a policy can be created that establishes a space in the classroom for laptop users to utilize when engaged in a task that requires a computer but that might distract others that are hard at work on a different task.
Utilize Technology For Student Engagement
Computer use and learning can be used in tandem with one another without impacting learning. The current generation has grown up with technology at their fingerprints and students are adroit at utilizing a variety of online tools.
Take advantage of this knowledge and design assessments that allow students to showcase their skills, abilities, and creativity. Podcasts, videos, websites, and blogs are all ways to show knowledge in an alternative fashion. Moving away from the traditional slideshow and essay encourages students to hone skills they will need in their future careers.
The Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo lists a variety of educational technology tools that can be incorporated into lessons and units. Ask students how they might use technology to meet the objectives of the assessment; students often surprise me with their ingenuity and enthusiasm when offered the opportunity to do something different.
Give Students a Break
It is difficult to maintain attention for extended amounts of time in a classroom. Students are often seated in desks for a majority of their day as they move from class to class.
After a long day of learning, students understandably struggle with forgoing distractions on the computer in favor of listening to yet another lecture. “Research shows off-task technology use is less prevalent in classrooms which offer engagement and breaks from traditional lecturing” (Managing Students’ Use of Technology in the Classroom).
Giving students brief breaks from learning will help recharge their batteries and increase engagement. This gives students the opportunity to quickly check their email or important messages before once again focusing on the task at hand.
Contrary to popular belief, it is okay to take breaks in instruction and give students room to breathe. We all benefit from short breaks; students are no exception.
Students are incredibly lucky to have the internet at their fingertips. My high school experience included frequent trips to the library to read books in order to learn. I would have had an entirely different educational experience had the internet been available.
Students are now able to find information on virtually any subject, at any time, on a variety of devices. Teachers are able to create more engaging lessons using a plethora of educational technology tools.
Although students are digitally distracted, we can help students recognize the importance of managing media consumption and understanding there is a time and a place to engage in off-task activities while at school.
Digitally Distracted: Learning With Laptops
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