I had to stop going to my favorite neighborhood deli because they put a “Hillary for Prison” sign in their window and were playing Fox News on the TVs you have to pass waiting in line to order. I was home sick from work the other day and saw a much longer-than-usual line during the lunch rush. Later that day I saw on…

Ah! I just commented above that I had no idea that the PNW had skinhead-level racists until I saw Green Room. Holy hell was that movie terrifying on a whole different level than other horror films.

This is so interesting to someone who is very unaware of that culture in the PNW. I recently first learned about y’alls rural racists watching the movie Green Room.

In a class of 400 people it is difficult to hold people accountable to using their screens “correctly.” We’ve had folks watching movies, online shopping, working on other homework, and then of course the general email, Facebook, etc. It seemed much more patronizing to have TAs roaming around policing HOW they use…

Kinja won’t let me edit my recent post, but I wanted to add:

Thank you so much, this is extremely meaningful to read. If that professor is still around I’m sure he’d delight in a little note dropped his way about your fond memories. I’ve been at this for 8 years, which isn’t very long, but I already have students who were undergrads in my courses who are out of school and…

Well that escalated in an extremely uninformed direction.

Our notetakers transcribe notes into typed documents. My students with ADD and ADHD have said they appreciate the no screens policies because they are frequently distracted by others’ screens, especially folks who misuse them in other classes; some become so distracted that they fixate on the other students’ misuse of…

Thanks for trying, but nope. I have one of the most popular classes on campus, the most popular class in my particular College and department, and our University has one of the most comprehensive disability student services in the country. I consulted with my department head, Dean, and director of disability services…

Thank you, that honestly means a lot. I’m realizing it is difficult to proclaim, “No, really...REALLY, I promise I’m good at my job!!!” to a bunch of strangers on the internet. Oh, the irony... hahaha.

What kind of healthcare is your student going into? I teach health courses (not pre-med, but more of the social science aspects of health promotion and disease prevention) and use the no electronics as another way to practice professionalism and communicating with someone face-to-face. Even in the medical health…

Yes, THANK YOU. Many of the replies to my comments in this thread would have you think otherwise. As educators, we get pretty clear feedback when things work and things don’t. It’s insulting so many people don’t trust the feedback of my 4000 students over 5 years, and my experiences with this. I wish you the best of…

Thank you for this thoughtful reply. Yes, I would absolutely accommodate a required piece of equipment for a student with certain needs. I have 20-30 students per *semester* who have specific accommodations, and all of them prefer to take advantage of the lecture outlines available online before class (so they can…

Thank you for this comment. I just logged in after only a couple hours away to see a bunch of those “but what about” replies, so you hit the nail square on the head. Interestingly, faculty and random folks on the street are the only people who get in a tizzy about this. Students LIKE it. They like it so much they do…

Thanks for the comment, and you are completely correct. I have addressed disability issues several times in replies to other comments.

I already wrote a lengthy reply to Blueberry Jones addressing your questions.

Law School is also one of those scenarios I mention above where the professor probably just narrates what you’re supposed to “learn” and you’re expected to write it all down verbatim because it will show up on your exams or assignments. Most pedagogy scholars will argue that’s not a great way to learn, but that…

We’re also at a very interesting point in history where today’s college freshman was born in 1998. They were conceived and have lived their whole lives in the Internet Era. The feedback I get from students is that they feel RELIEVED to be “forced” to put electronics away for 50-75 minutes a few times a week. If gives…

Thanks for the comment. See my reply to Blueberry Jones; I specifically address students with special learning needs, as you are right that it is especially important to consider.

Yes, there is SO much research out there, it is amazing that RESEARCHERS who teach at universities try to argue that keeping electronics is helpful. I said in my reply to Blueberry Jones that there are times when laptops are appropriate and faculty need to adjust their teaching and expectations accordingly.