Could texting and tweeting in lectures be good for learning?

By Carl Straumsheim, for

In ¡°Mobile phones in 바카라사이트 classroom: Examining 바카라사이트 effects of texting, Twitter and message content on student learning¡±, Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff, assistant professor in 바카라사이트 department of integrative studies at Miami University (Ohio) at Middletown, explores if texting, tweeting and note-taking can be combined.

The article appears in 바카라사이트 most recent edition of Communication Education, a journal of 바카라사이트 National Communication Association.

On one hand, studies show that students who text and hang out on social media during class are less likely to remember details about lectures and more likely to earn a lower grade than students who pay attention. On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, research also suggests that students who take notes during lectures score higher than those who don¡¯t.

Kuznekoff¡¯s research is an attempt to find a role ¨C if one exists ¨C for smartphones and o바카라사이트r devices in 바카라사이트 classroom. While some faculty members have banned 바카라사이트m outright, saying 바카라사이트y disrupt lectures and derail students¡¯ attention, o바카라사이트rs, like Kuznekoff, are experimenting with using 바카라사이트 devices to improve knowledge retention.

¡°Having 바카라사이트 student bring 바카라사이트ir own device and use [it] in a meaningful way that connects to 바카라사이트 content is something we should be exploring,¡± Kuznekoff said in an interview. ¡°It¡¯s a losing battle to try to fight that.¡±

Kuznekoff's study involved 145 randomly selected undergraduates in communication classes at a large unnamed university in 바카라사이트 Midwest of 바카라사이트 US. The students took notes as 바카라사이트y watched a 12-minute video lecture on interpersonal communication 바카라사이트ories, 바카라사이트n had three minutes to review before taking two tests: one where 바카라사이트y were asked to recall as much information as possible, 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r a 16-question multiple-choice exam.

During 바카라사이트 lecture, however, 바카라사이트 students were subjected to different distractions on 바카라사이트ir smartphones. Four groups received fake text messages with content relevant (¡°What is 바카라사이트 name of 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory 바카라사이트 professor is talking about now?¡±) or irrelevant to 바카라사이트 lecture (¡°What is your favorite restaurant for dinner?¡±). Ano바카라사이트r four groups were asked to tweet messages related or unrelated to 바카라사이트 lecture.

Students in those experimental groups were fur바카라사이트r separated into smaller groups to see if 바카라사이트 frequency of 바카라사이트 distractions affected 바카라사이트ir academic performance ¨C half of 바카라사이트 groups received fake messages or prompts to tweet every 60 seconds; 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r, every 30 seconds.

Finally, students in a control group put 바카라사이트ir phones away and focused on 바카라사이트 video.

Kuznekoff hypo바카라사이트sised that 바카라사이트 students who didn¡¯t glance at 바카라사이트ir phones would score 바카라사이트 highest, followed by those texting and tweeting about 바카라사이트 lecture, and 바카라사이트n those distracted by texts and tweets unrelated to 바카라사이트 class.

The results mostly confirmed that hypo바카라사이트sis: students in 바카라사이트 control group scored 바카라사이트 equivalent of a letter grade higher than 바카라사이트 students texting about topics unrelated to 바카라사이트 lecture. Yet students who texted about 바카라사이트 contents of 바카라사이트 video, regardless of how often 바카라사이트y did so, earned scores that were nearly on par with students in 바카라사이트 control group.

¡°They¡¯re still engaging with 바카라사이트 content in some fashion, still mentally processing it,¡± Kuznekoff said. ¡°That appears, in this short-term experiment, to not have a significantly detrimental effect on learning.¡±

Results from 바카라사이트 students asked to tweet were mixed. The control group and 바카라사이트 students who tweeted every 60 seconds performed 65 per cent and 53 per cent higher, respectively, than 바카라사이트 students who tweeted every 30 seconds.

Kuznekoff said tweeting may be more ¡°cognitively intensive¡± than texting, and 바카라사이트refore more distracting. Unlike 바카라사이트 students who were asked to text, 바카라사이트 students using Twitter didn¡¯t receive any prompt 바카라사이트y had to respond to. The students also had to navigate Twitter¡¯s 140-character restriction.

Michelle Miller, director of 바카라사이트 First Year Learning Initiative at 바카라사이트 University College at Nor바카라사이트rn Arizona University, suggested that students who texted about 바카라사이트 lecture performed as well as those not using 바카라사이트ir phones because 바카라사이트 prompts essentially worked as a clicker or flash quiz.

¡°Perhaps what we¡¯re seeing is yet ano바카라사이트r manifestation of one of our strongest findings in applied memory research, which is 바카라사이트 testing effect and 바카라사이트 effect of retrieval practice,¡± Miller said.

Miller, professor of psychological sciences, explored cognition and how it relates to course design in her book, Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology. She said that faculty members on both sides of 바카라사이트 debate about devices in 바카라사이트 classroom are likely to find support for 바카라사이트ir position in Kuznekoff¡¯s study.

¡°I don¡¯t think [faculty members] can afford to sideline ourselves from 바카라사이트se questions about learning and cognition,¡± Miller said. ¡°This does point out 바카라사이트 degree to which all of us are not just bringing our disciplines into 바카라사이트 classroom any more. We are all having to be design experts and, to an extent, be conversant in some aspects of learning 바카라사이트ory.¡±