In my 30 student classes I do allow electronic devices.  While teaching, I move about the room and - when students are off task - I teach from beside them for less than a minute to softly nudge them back on task.  While I do notice off-task behavior, it’s fairly small.  It works to monitor and design lessons to be engaging and always at quick enough pace that you miss something important if you are not paying attention.  If you have dead time without a clear thing students should be doing (e.g., passing out papers), the tech makes getting students back on task quite difficult.

I also teach a large introductory class of 150 students.  This makes moving about the room more difficult.  Worse, students feel deindividuated (invisible) and that makes them more likely to get off task.  Worse still, if I miss stopping someone in the middle of the room using their cell phone, it “spreads” like a virus.  The first semester I taught such a large class I actually required an electronic device because I hoped to use it to enhance interactivity.  But the increased interactivity was far less valuable to students’ learning than harm from increased off-task behaviors.

In my large lecture classes, the class rule is that any electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, tablets, or computers) must be off and away during class.  I use this as a learning opportunity since I go over Cognitive Psychology experimental research showing that, not only does off-task laptop use reduce test grades for the person off task, but it also harms the performance of those seated nearby in further back rows (Sana, Weston, & Cepeda, 2013).  Furthermore, even though it feels harder to take notes by hand, psychology research also shows that the added depth of processing necessary to write notes by hand actually leads to better test performance (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). Citations below.

Best wishes designing your classes, Michael!

~ Kevin

Mueller, P. A. & Oppenheimer, D. M.  (2014).  The pen Is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking, Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159-1168.

Sana, F, Westone, T., & Cepeda, N. J.  (2013).  Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers.  Computers & Education, 62, 24-31.

Thank you Kevin for such a detailed (and wise!) answer).

Michael

I often use clickers to keep students focused on me / my slides. Every few slides there is a mini-quiz. Element of gamification + feedback on what was too difficult and needs more explanation.

Dear Michael Strangelove,

I fully agree. If the use of laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. during a lesson at school is not a teaching instrument, it is not part of the educational process, it should be forbidden to use these devices during lessons. Using laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches and other mobile devices that allow you to browse Internet resources during lessons can make students interfere with active participation in the lesson and the teacher may be distracted by the lesson. On the other hand, during some lessons it may be for a certain time, in certain situations of searching for information on the Internet, the teacher may allow using these devices if laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. would act as didactic instruments to find the necessary information.

Best wishes