What About in the Classroom?

Let's admit it, we've used our cellphones during class at one point but has it gone a little too far for some of us? The article I read The Use of Mobile Devices in the College Classroom shows us the statistics of cellphone use in the college classroom and the ways it distracts the learning environment. I found out that college students use their phones 11 times everyday in class and that 92% of college students say that they use their phone to send text messages during class! Multiple studies compared students who used their phones during a lecture to students that did not. The inevitable happens and they find that students who used their phones acquired less information during lectures and scored lower on tests to those who were not distracted. But wait, there's more! Not only is it distracting to us, it can also be distracting to neighboring students who surround us. In several surveys, students reported that texting is distracting to neighboring students. We can see that cell phones affect the ways we learn in the classroom. Why are we placing text messages in front of our careers? Why are we wasting our time and money on college classes if we send text messages half the time?

Possible Solutions:

According to NPR, college students use their phone eight to ten hours a day and they check them on an average of 15 to 20 minutes. I read that heavier smartphone use causes lower GPAs and lower quality sleep. So what's the solution? Doug Duncan, a college professor at CU Boulder, has changed the ways his students interact in one particular astronomy class. Participation points equal up to ten percent of a student's grade. As one of his solutions to cell phone use in his class, he hands out devices called "clickers" otherwise known as hand-held remotes, for his students to use in order for them to answer multiple choice questions during class. The clicker keeps records of the student's interactions (in this case, points collected) and adds them up toward the end. Whoever receives the least amount of points is obviously not paying any attention.

I found that in the previous article, The Use of Mobile Devices in the College Classroom, professors could use cell phones as part of their lecture by having their students download applications that allow them to boost their class participation and to not serve as a distraction.

Your Thoughts

Lastly, what do you think needs to be done about cell phone use in college classrooms? Should we download applications that limit our use and boost our participation? Should we turn in our devices to our professor right as we walk in? Or should we come to class without our cell phone? What are you thinking?

What are the Dangers?

The article I read, 10 Statistics That Capture The Dangers of Texting and Driving from The Huffington Post, shows us the dangers of texting while driving. The ways it shows us its dangers is through the statistics. I learned that approximately 341,000 crashes in 2013 were caused by texting while driving. This is shocking information because its a wakeup call to everyone. Looking at a number that big is a jaw dropper and there's something needed to be done about it. We cant put our lives in such drastic situations like this just because of a slight distraction. According to the CDC, I read that at 55 mph, the average text message puts your eyes off the road long enough to stretch over a football field. That’s 360 feet of distraction!

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What are Some Possible Solutions?

According to the CDC, many states are pushing laws out that ban the use of phones in cars to prevent texting and driving and other forms of distracted driving. Some other possible solutions include preventing texting and driving on employees who work for the government. Of course, this doesn't apply to all of us because we all don’t work for the government, so there's still more to be done about it.

INJURY PREVENTION & CONTROL: MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY: DISTRACTED DRIVING- CDC

Lastly, Your Thoughts

Using these statistics, we can see that texting and driving is obviously dangerous, killing massive amounts of people every year. The fact that the average text at 55 mph takes the length of a football field is quite shocking to me. So with all of this in mind, what do you think still needs to be done about it? Is it important? Who does it affect? What do you think would help to prevent texting and driving or distracted driving in general? Should developers push out applications or new technology that limits the phone's uses while we drive? Why does it seem that texting is addictive and what makes it addictive? Is smart technology to blame for this issue? Is this shocking to you and does it matter? Why or why not?

A Short Introduction

Everyday, we use technology rather if its our cellphones to help us connect with each other or something simple like a calculator to help us in mathematics. Technology has changed our ways of life but has it gone a little too far? "Smart technology" such as a smartphone, allows us to do things that we've never thought to be done before on such a small but mighty device; however, some think that it has gone a little too far. Every time a notification pops us and our phone happens to be in our pocket, there's this anticipation of checking our phone, distracting us from what we should be doing rather if it's working, or if it is driving. So, what are your thoughts on smart technology? Has it gone too far? And if so, what can we do to stop it from distracting us?