This isn't some crazy fad - this is the future either we embrace the technology and see it not as something to change will we ever be able to compete for attention and connect to this generation.
Chelsea,
well said. We must learn to live in & educate in this new reality.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree. Even though cell phones have become essential to Gen Y ers, there is still a time to put then away and pay attention. We are preparing students for future employment opportunities. There will be times in the workplace when a cell phone will not be tolerated because it is rude or could produce a dangerous situation.
Daniel,
this is very true & I have found that many do understand this. While they may gripe a little, they do get it, often they've just never been made to put them away.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Challenge your students to live ONE day without using a computer, cell phone, or television set and give them extra credit for writing a paper detailing the results of the experiment. It is interesting to see how they feel when they are "disconnected."
Thomas,
this is a good exercise & often they will thank you for this.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
the school where I teach also has policies against the use of cellphone, laptops, and recording devices, cellphones may be turned on to a silent mode if the student is expecting an important call about the wellbeing of a family member or a call from an employer or someone that they have interviewed with that day,they can with the instructor permision use the phone as a calculator, when working on compression ratios in class, they must wear clothing without any holes or rippes in them and must be neat at all times. Our students are held to these standards at all times, with technology being used when and where needed. I also find they want everything in the way of measuring tools to also be electronic, for example micrometers, calipers, and torque wrenches these tools how ever do not teach them to read or use a standard OLD FASHION TOOL.
I agree. Expectations of professionalism must be followed in the work place. In order to prepare students, they should be enforced in school as well.
