Tech Tip Tuesday: Banning Technology is Not the Answer

Many of us sometimes feel too connected to and distracted by our devices.  This is evident in our classrooms as well. Many educators have started to notice, and feel frustrated by, student distraction in the classroom when it comes to devices.  Laptops have become ubiquitous in the classroom and have become a focal point for faculty frustration.

However, banning laptops and other devices is certainly not the answer.  We allow our students to use clickers, cell phones, and other devices for limited purposes in the classroom, such as polling, but we do not necessarily guide our students in how to best leverage these tools at their fingertips.  In fact, many educators point to studies on the value of taking paper notes.  The argument in the studies is that learning improves when we force our students to write out their notes.  This practice requires them to think more deeply about their learning and commit more content to memory.  

That is a valid objection, as is the argument about how distracting devices in the classroom can be to learning.  We have all witnessed students with open laptops with multiple browser windows open that often do not have to do with the class content at hand.  While I am not concerned about students who prefer to distract themselves from their learning (after all, they are causing themselves a disservice), I am concerned with the distraction to other students who want to pay attention.

This frustration with devices has led many faculty to ban technology from the classroom.  The argument is the ban will take away all student distractions.

The first issue with such a ban is one of accommodation.  We have students who require devices for accommodation purposes, and by issuing a general ban on technology, this can call a much-needed accommodation to everyone's attention.  This can make students uncomfortable and may cause them to stop using their own accommodation.

Instead, we should embrace technology and teach our students how to leverage technology successfully in the classroom.  We need to ban the classroom technology ban.  We should use technology as an opportunity to engage our students in different ways of learning.  We should use technology to expose our students to new information and ideas.  We should use technology to help our students learn to collaborate synchronously and asynchronously.  Leveraging technology can help teach our students much-needed skills they will use beyond our classrooms.  

So what we need to do is set ground rules for using technology in our classrooms.  Discuss this openly with students.  Create a class contract that includes the appropriate use of educational technology in class.  Be purposeful in how you teach with technology.  Be purposeful in how you ask your students to use technology.    

​Don't ban technology in your classroom.  Embrace the opportunity to use technology effectively and support better teaching and learning every day.