When students walk into a Michigan State University classroom, it's typical to see their peers on their phones or laptops, but when communications, sciences and disorders junior Lydia Stefanovski first walked into history professor Helen Veit’s class, she was confused.
No devices before and during class.
“I was like, ‘This is gonna be a long semester,’ and I had it for two classes, so I was like even more upset about it,” Stefanovski said. “I thought coming to college I would be able to have a bit more freedom.”
But as the semester went on, Stefanovski realized how much information she retained and felt like she could participate in more discussions.
Veit has a stricter technology ban than most. If students need to use their phones, Veit asks them to go out into the hall. The classroom remains strictly technology-free.
“I’ve been doing this for probably three and a half years now,” she said. “A lot of students have told me they really love it, they really appreciate it.”
When Veit started at MSU as a professor, iPhones were still a novelty. Classrooms brimmed with chatter and laughter to the chagrin of the lecturer, who repeatedly failed to capture the students' attention.
Now, lecturers battle with smartphones for students' attention, instead of fellow classmates.
“Classrooms became really silent, and at the same time, reports of student loneliness started increasing, and I was very concerned about that and felt that there might be some connection,” Veit said. “I do think meeting other students through your classes was always a really common way for students to make connections and often to make friends, and I felt that having smartphones was really preventing students from connecting with each other.”
Like Veit, history professor Charles Keith has been banning phones for years, although he's recently adopted the strict technology-free ban after years of urging from fellow faculty. Around a third of the history department now have phone-free classrooms, Keith said, yet interested faculty are skeptical that students would be on board.
