Students Using Smartphones in Classes

Nowadays it is quite common for students - especially in colleges and universities - to use their smartphones while in class. At my college - like many other colleges and universities - WiFi is free for students.

However, year after year I hear other teachers - usually new teachers - at faculty meetings complain about students using their smartphones in their classes. I will be frank and honest with you: I have become fed up with these types of teachers.

When I started encountering students in my classes using their smartphones my initial reaction was, of course, to confront them and to tell them to put their smartphones away. But, as more and more students started getting smartphones, the problem with students using their smartphones in my classes only increased.

Of course I considered this situation as a problem, but I quickly realized that the problem was in fact my problem and not the students' problem. I started analyzing the situation and started reflecting on how to fix this situation. I also decided that it was to easy to lay the blame of the problem on the students, and decided to put the blame of more and more students using their smartphones in my classes on me.

What I came to realize - and what other teachers need to realize - is that the teacher is the root of the problem.If you are a teacher and your students are using their smartphones often in your classes, you ought to ask yourself what you are doing wrong. Realize that you are probably the cause of the problem. Possibly, you aren't presenting the material in an interesting or amusing way to grab your students' attention. Possibly, you are just lecturing to the students and not engaging them nor communicating with them enough. Perhaps you are being creative enough in your classes. Whatever the cause, all teachers need to reflect on what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong.

The smartphone is probably the most powerful computing tool ever available to masses of people. Thus, I believe as a teacher and as an educator that I need to be more creative and technologically-inclined to utilize this remarkable mobile computing tool in order to come up with even better lessons and class activities for my students. I cannot remain complacent in my profession. This is my challenge to myself, and I challenge teachers all around the world to do likewise. Otherwise, you can continue complaining about your students using their smartphones in my classes.

#teaching