Over the past 13 weeks, I’ve talked about finding entertainment, whether it’s on campus, in the community or in your own home. This week I’m talking about finding it on your own time, rather than your invaluable class time.
With the digital age came a huge influx of new tech toys to play with, from iPhones, iPads and laptops. And while these are all entertaining, fun devices, when you belong in class, these devices belong in your bag.
As an off-campus student, I have bills to pay, rent checks to write and groceries to buy. Yet a chunk of my money goes toward tuition — make that a hefty, giant chunk.
And yours does too.
Which is why I am dismayed at the amount of times I see students checking their Facebook profiles, emails or Farmville empires while an instructor delivers a lecture.
I understand that not every lecture is the most fascinating and taking notes may be daunting, but each student commits to taking their classes the moment they sign up.
On the other hand, each instructor takes the time out of his or her busy life to spend up to three hours trying to give students the educations they pay for. Take a moment and imagine your life outside of class: picture your friends, family and the movie you’re dying to see this Friday. Guess what? Your instructor has a life too! If he or she can take time to focus on giving a lecture, you can take time to focus on listening to it.
Do you ever get mad when you’re talking to your friend over coffee only to look down and see that person texting? Imagine if you were telling a story to 150 people and 30 percent of your audience was doing the same thing.
When instructors give you permission to bring a laptop to class, they aren’t giving you permission to Tweet about your breakfast, read on your Kindle or watch YouTube videos posted by your friends. They’re giving you access to take notes and enhance your learning.
Don’t get me wrong; I love my laptop, cell phone and Kindle as much as the next person. However, I also understand that the classmate behind me doesn’t want to watch as I scroll through photos, Twitter feeds or Gawker’s news content.
While New Year’s is now a month behind us, it doesn’t mean that all resolutions must be finalized. You can make new ones all year long. Think about the way you utilize class time. Starting tomorrow, silence the cell phone, leave the laptop at home and save the Kindle reading for bedtime. You’ll be amazed at the difference.
I must warn that there are potential side effects when it comes to classroom technology withdrawal. Within a week you may find yourself engaging in random behavior: participating in class, taking better notes, doing your homework because you actually understand it and actually getting to know your instructor. Stay calm; it’s part of the process.
And the best part? Your Facebook, Twitter and texts will all still be there once class is dismissed.
