The document discusses the impact of mobile phone usage on student learning and classroom dynamics. It highlights contrasting opinions on whether digital communication diminishes social skills or reflects adaptation to new norms. Research indicates that excessive phone use during lectures negatively affects students' note-taking and test performance, suggesting a need to rethink teaching strategies in a digital age.

2. JANUARY 2018: on showing a cohort of students how to access their group wikis on their
laptops, smartphones and tablets in a large lecture theatre, I saw this stuck on the wall…

3. Some critics argue that texting and other digital communication
behaviour potentially diminish key social skills like effective listening:
‘We think of phones as a communication tool, but the truth is they may
be just the opposite’.
(Skenazy , L. 2009)
Other views suggest that people are adapting to new communication
norms in an increasingly digital world, learning to ‘quickly attend to,
process, and respond to multiple and sometimes simultaneous
messages’.
(Davidson, K. N. 2011)

4. “Students will be too busy
texting to listen to the lecture.”
“I find it offensive: students’
attention should be on me, not on
their phone!”
“If they're texting or emailing, it will have a
significant impact on their studies which will be
demonstrated when assignments don't meet
the criteria or the skills taught aren't used.”
“It drives me insane when (other) students turn up
and spend the entire time scrolling away and
sending Snapchats. I like checking my Instagram
and Twitter, but I know when enough is enough!”
"Ultimately, I see strict policies and blanket
bans as a form of control. I don't think the
attention of students is actually something
teachers can or should control."

5. BUT!
Mobile phones are now synonymous with living in a digital society!
We can’t go back to how things were – to many, taking away the phone is like
going back in time!
All universities have a duty to underpin digital literacy into what is taught

6. Increasing importance of mobile devices
Opportunity to learn anywhere, anytime
A need to change our teaching strategies
(Conole, 2018)
21st Century Competencies And Digital Literacies

7. When students test / post status updates during taught sessions they will potentially record 38% fewer details in their
notes, score 51% lower on free-recall tests, and 20% lower on multiple-choice tests.
Students who were not using their mobile phones did 62% better on overall note taking, recorded 93% more
outstanding answers in their notes and recalled 87% more minimally sufficient answers, and in general did
substantially better at recalling information from the lecture.
The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student
Learning
(Kuznekoff, Jeffrey and Titsworth 2013)

8. References
Conole, G., (2018), Transforming Education, located at: http://e4innovation.com/?m=201802,
date accessed: 20th February 2018
Davidson, K. N. 2011. Now you see it: How the brain science of attention will transform the way
we live, work, and learn, New York, NY: Viking
Kuznekoff, Jeffrey H and Titsworth, S, (2013), The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student
Learning, located at:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03634523.2013.767917?scroll=top&needAcces
s=true, date accessed: 20th February, 2018
Skenazy , L. 2009 , February 9 . Smartphone apps great for marketing, bad for social skills,
Advertising Age . Retrieved from http://adage.com