No Computers, No Cellular Devices

Computers and cell phones are two of the most popular forms of technology that almost everyone uses on a daily basis. So what happens when your professors at the beginning of the year tell you in their syllabus, “You can only use a computer if you have an academic accommodation approved by the dean, and all cellular devices need to be turned off at the beginning of class, or left in your dorm room.” I personally do not know anyone who leaves their cell phone, whether it is a regular simple one, iPhone, or blackberry in their dorm when they go to classes. We never think to leave it behind because we feel naked without it, but what happens if you actually do listen to your professor’s wishes? They aren’t telling you this to be annoying or because they want to make your hour and a half class or two and a half hour class even more miserable then it already is, they do this to try and benefit their students.

There are many positive things that can come out of your professor asking you not to bring electronics to class, and one of the most important to some students is their grades. Those who pay attention in class are more than likely to get the better grade for the class at the end of the semester. It also, by not engaging in activities that take away from the classroom morale, you better the learning environment, at least for yourself, by participating more in class or just taking better notes. Now I know what you’re thinking, most people can multitask, especially women. But how productive are you actually being while you’re multitasking? Multitasking is definitely not a helpful activity because it takes your concentration away from a certain task that you are doing and allows you to make more mistakes.

Where am I going with this? Not having your cell phones or computers in class with you drastically changes your ability to pay attention in class, and will hopefully increase your class performance! Increased class performance means a better GPA, which I know mostly everyone here at Drew strives for-mostly being the key word, because apparently Drew students are somewhat incompetent. The positives about either a) leaving your cell phone in your room, b) putting it on silent and left in your bag to cause minimal distractions, and c) not bringing your laptop so you can Facebook chat everyone in existence during the boring hour and a half or two and half hour class sessions, will hopefully better your performance at any school you are in. You will also be giving respect to your boring professors. I mean lets be serious, there aren’t many students that will actually do this BUT they don’t see the positives, and when you come to a school that is as expensive as Drew University is, you want to get your money’s worth. Here’s the downside: when you don’t bring these distractions, you find ways to distract yourself anyway. From drawing pictures in your notebook or looking at the person drawing pictures in their notebook, to the fact that I came up with this blog post idea in class, are all examples of distractions that exist outside of the technological realm.

Although bringing our computers and our cell phones to class this week would have had a plus side to it. I wouldn’t have been confused out of my mind trying to understand binary for starters. BUT, you would be able to e-mail your professor to see what is going on and find out why he is 25 minutes late to class instead of leaving the professor to find an empty classroom when he gets there, making him even more agitated because he was stuck in traffic for two and a half hours. Or one of the three people emailed would have seen his memo about being late to class. What’s more important to you, better grades or a happy professor, I’ll let you make that decision!