There's still a learning curve on classroom Net-iquette
August 13, 2009
Paul Irish
STAFF REPORTER
The technology wave sweeping the world has many people searching for a happy medium of when and where to use cellphones, BlackBerrys and laptops.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in our classrooms, where students are embracing the technology while educators and administrators grapple with proper use and courtesy issues.
Susan McCahan, an engineering professor at The University of Toronto, says most schools do not have strict policies on the use of electronic devices, since most situations can be controlled by basic classroom etiquette.
Simply put, if McCahan thinks their use is causing a distraction in class, she has the right to address the situation.
"The use of technology can be considered a cornerstone in engineering," she says. "Our classrooms are rigged for instant access to information via computers and other devices that help students work as a team."
But she admits it can be very disconcerting to see students surfing the Web, emailing friends or even watching movies on their laptops during her lectures.
Brendan Coughlin, 19, a third-year art history major at Queen's University in Kingston, suggests that up to 25 per cent of students are distracted by their laptops at any given time during a lecture.
"Someone may just have a peek at something – but it can be distracting if it's in your peripheral vision," he says. "You can momentarily lose your focus, and you really don't need that during a lecture."
He says the worst is when you're sitting near a fellow student who has no intention of paying attention and just flips from site to site, video to video, all through the lecture.
McCahan has a three-strike policy to control disruptive electronic devices. On a third offence, the student is asked to leave the class and will only be allowed back after a meeting with the professor.
"I tell my students that this is what's it's like in the world of business – a world that they will soon join as engineers – and that they had better be prepared for it."
Toronto Star