Research concerning Mobile Technology

Right after the 2016-17 School year concluded, I saw this from a popular web-based science news publisher.  A peer-reviewed study is summarized in understandable terms concerning the presence of mobile technology and the affect on cognitive function, or the student's ability to think and process information.  The study measured test performance where concentration was required to do well and the results were a mix of expected and a little surprising.  The most important conclusion was concerning the decrease in cognitive ability if the student's phone was on the desk, even face down.

"You probably don't need telling that having a smartphone around can be distracting, but it's interesting that just having a phone close by – even if it's turned off or in silent mode – is enough to reduce our mental capacity for other tasks."

I always admonish students to keep their phones in their backpacks, not on the desk or in their pockets.  I will continue to be diligent about this.  When I review student test data compared to their interactions or placement of phones during class, there is a clear correlation.  My policy is to give ALL students a reminder to put away their mobile technology (primarily phones) at the very beginning of class.  If I see a device, I will request the student turn over the phone and it will be taken to the CAP office until the end of the day.  If the student is in an afternoon class, they may be required to turn in their phone to the CAP Office at the beginning of the next school day as well.  Instead of turning the phone over to myself or another adult, the students may immediately take the phone to the CAP office themselves,  accompanied by a monitor or other adult in the school building.

I did notice that students were less inclined to impulsively check their phones for notifications when the school IMS department blocked VPN access when using the school WiFi.  This effectively prohibited students from using social media such as Snapchat during the day unless they were on mobile data (which itself is prohibited in the school BYOD policy).  Although texting still is a problem for many students, the interaction with mobile devices was reduced during instructional times and most importantly, students are more prepared to start class on-time.

I have included a citation, link and copy of the primary source at the bottom of this page.  Please feel free to contact me by e-mail with any questions about the use or presence of mobile devices in my classroom.

Following is the original article embedded on this web page.  Please note that I do not control or have any input or benefit from the ads or links to other articles on this news website.

Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity

Adrian F. Ward, Kristen Duke, Ayelet Gneezy, and Maarten W. Bos

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2017 2:2, 140-154