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Center for Teaching

Wireless in the Classroom – Some Resources

Posted by on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 in News.

Below you’ll find some resources relevant to today’s CFT workshop, “Wireless in the Classroom: Is a Ban on Student Laptop Use During Class a Good Idea?”

  • CFT “Wireless in the Classroom” Teaching Guide – This guide includes questions to consider when developing course policies about wireless in the classroom, as well as sample syllabus statements and strategies for leveraging students’ mobile devices in the classroom.
  • 2009 EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research Survey – Spring 2009 data indicated that 51% of students owned Internet-capable mobile phones and another 12% planned to do so in the next 12 months.
  • 2010 Ball State University Survey – Spring 2010 data indicated that 99% of all college students own cell phones, and half of these students have smart phones, up from 27% the year before.
  • “More Colleges, Professors Shutting Down Laptops and Other Digital Distractions” – This April 2010 Washington Post story includes interviews with several professors who have banned laptops due to their distraction potential. “I’m not going to give them the opportunity to shoot themselves in the foot,” says Rutgers professor J. P. Krahel.
  • “Put Away That Laptop: Professors Pull the Plug” – Another April 2010 story, this one from National Public Radio. A variety of perspectives are described, including this from Frederick Lawrence, Dean of the George Washington University Law School: “A lively, engaging lecture will always beat out an online shoe sale.”
  • CFT “Classroom Response Systems” Teaching Guide – Vanderbilt’s “clicker” vendor, Turning Technologies, makes software called ResponseWare that allows students to respond to in-class “clicker” questions using any Web-enabled device, such as laptops and smart phones. See this CFT guide for more information.
  • Berkman Center’s Live Question Tool – The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at the Harvard School of Law makes available a free online tool for handling Q&A during events. Students can submit questions via laptops or smart phones and vote their peers’ questions up or down so that the most pressing questions rise to the top of the list.

Also, you’re invited to join us for a follow-up conversation, “Wireless in the Classroom: Strategies for Leveraging Student Laptops and Smart Phones” on October 12th. More information and registration available here.

Image: “Untitled” by Flickr user Nathan Makan, Creative Commons licensed.

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