Joelle Renstrom Battles Digital Distraction in the Classroom
Joelle Renstrom, a lecturer of rhetoric at Boston University College of General Studies, had an idea last semester that was at first a tough sell for her students. Renstrom required the 30 students in her two classes to place their phones within a locked pouch that can be opened only by touching the pouch to a magnetic key on her desk.
Renstrom aims to combat “digital distraction”– students texting or using their devices for reasons other than learning during class. “Digital distraction” is definitely an issue in classrooms, with studies showing that 80% of students are digitally distracted in some way during class.
At first, Renstrom’s students were not particularly keen about the idea of putting away their phones for the entirety of class, but at semester’s end, Renstrom tells BU Today, “Not only are they less dependent on a phone, it actually might feel good to not have the option to check it.”
Renstrom may bring the pouches back for future semesters. She tells BU Today, ”I’m thinking about whether or not I want to roll it out for the spring, where I teach a seminar on robots and AI and advanced technology. We actually talk about the addictive properties of cell phones, so it’s relevant to the class.”
Read more about Renstrom’s teaching experiment at BU Today.