The following is an email I wrote to my professor whose syllabus included a rule that prohibits the use of any electronic devices such as computers, Ipads, phones, and recording devices in the classroom.
I’m a student currently enrolled in your course for this quarter. As I was reading through the syllabus, the course rule prohibiting the use of electronic devices sparked my concern. I understand and agree that to limit distractions, students need to turn off their phones. However, in a world where you’re preparing students to become career driven employees or entrepreneurs, the world of not using any electronic devices does not exist, therefore learning without them wouldn’t be appropriate. My learning style is based around documenting my thoughts quickly and on the spot which is most efficiently done on my computer. I feel as though banning students from utilizing the support of any learning aid device is transitioning backwards, runs the risk of being archaic, and muzzles us as adults.
To ban the use of electronic learning aids would mean to neglect the university’s very mission statements that advocate for innovation and advancement via various forms of research (UW Policy Directory). Given that we are in a modern era of technological advancements, controlling what students can use to aid themselves in their advancement of knowledge is harmful to student’s academic performance. While the intention to better your students’ learning environment is there, prohibiting electronics is neglecting to face and accommodate for the era of technology that we students must learn in. In a case study analyzing university students’ performance during the pandemic, the results showed an increase in students’ academic performance (Iglesias-Pradas et al. 2021: 4). Throughout the pandemic, an asynchronous setting allowed adult learners to perform better academically than their younger counterparts. This can be attributed to adults being better suited to utilize their self-organization and reflection skills they’ve acquired throughout the years which are necessary to succeed in university. It can be followed that while monitoring the use of electronics in the classroom may be helpful to younger students who have yet to develop the skills required to avoid distraction, it acts as a hindrance to adult learners and leads to the ultimate decline of their academic performance. Moreover, with the pandemic in mind, students have spent the last year and a half adapting to learning strictly online so this transition to absolutely no electronic devices is not only abrupt but it is contradictory as well. It doesn’t lend to a modern and holistic environment that supports diverse learners nor does it take into consideration the hardships we’ve faced throughout the pandemic and new technological skills we’ve acquired that have improved our performance as students. Rather, this rule impedes the ability of learners like myself to perform at their best by taking away our faculty to utilize learning aid devices.
We’re in a new era of enablement learning in which students are being assigned learning aid devices in middle school and high school. Granted, those are being monitored and controlled but it’s still present in the classroom to aid learning. Had I known that this course prevented students from using the learning aids that we’ve been taught to embrace for several years, I wouldn’t have enrolled. Additionally, since you are also not posting any lecture notes such as PowerPoints or Panopto recordings that students can utilize as an aid, it further hinders our learning. While I understand your reasoning behind these decisions, both would impede my ability to succeed in your course immensely. I understand your concern and reasoning behind prohibiting electronic devices in order to facilitate a controlled learning environment that leaves little room for distraction. While your intentions are positive, I argue that this is enabling us as students to remain stagnant in our learning and obstructs the development of our maturity. The UW’s mission statement declares “the University fosters an environment in which its students can develop mature and independent judgement” (UW Policy Directory). Per UW’s mission statement, students are expected to have the maturity to make decisions that benefit their learning, this includes autonomy with our electronic learning aid devices. As adults in a university setting, the onus is on us to avoid distraction and focus on the content being taught in class. Our job as a learner is to have the responsibility and maturity to pay attention and utilize our learning devices appropriately.
While some schools may be in agreement with you and support your decision to ban electronic devices in the classroom altogether, this isn’t tackling the issue at hand. I agree that the misuse of electronic devices diminishes one’s ability to learn, that much is true. However, I also believe it all comes down to self-regulation. As adults, we’ve spent years honing the skills necessary to regulate ourselves and we have developed our ability to maximize our learning benefits whilst utilizing our learning aid devices appropriately. Schools have taught us how to use our learning aid devices to our educational advantage as technology is a vital and inescapable part of our modernized upbringing. An alternative evidence-based policy that schools have chosen to adopt is the utilization of a social contract (Allen et al. 2021: 176). This policy is a compromise that is modern, allows for the use of learning aid devices in the classroom, and minimizes the risk of distraction to students. Within said contract, some basic issues are addressed and accounted for such as “student agency around digital use… accountability of digital devices and technology… appropriate usage of digital devices… and managing misuse of digital devices” (Allen et al. 2021: 179). In addition to this, with the pandemic, the classroom environment will be reconfigured for everyone’s safety and students will be spaced apart. This will allow students to have a better opportunity to focus on the content but it would also reduce the concern that one student’s learning aid device is distracting another (as students will be separated).
My goal in any course is to do my best to perform exceptionally based on the expectations highlighted within the syllabus. As written in the syllabus, you expect your students to take this course seriously and I most certainly will hence why I’ve written this email to you expressing my concern. I know that if I’m unable to utilize my learning aid device, my performance in your course will suffer greatly and will not be a true reflection of my capabilities. With that said I am assuming there is a process that I could proceed with in obtaining an exemption to this rule that prohibits learning aid devices. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Regards, Concerned UW Student
References:
Allen, Kelly-Ann, et al. Building Better Schools with Evidence-Based Policy: Adaptable Policy for Teachers and School Leaders. Routledge, 2021.
Iglesias-Pradas, Santiago, et al. “Emergency Remote Teaching and Students’ Academic Performance in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 119, 2021, p. 106713., doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.106713.
“University of Washington Policy Directory.” BRG, Regent Policy No. 1, Role and Mission of the University, www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/BRG/RP1.html.