As our school and communities across the country consider the use of cell phones and laptops in academic settings, we chose to reflect on what policies the college may implement to mitigate the distractions screens pose, both in and outside of the classroom.
We know all too well the temptation of pulling out a laptop to check emails during lectures or scrolling on Instagram while we should really be doing a problem set. You know what we’re talking about: Go into any class here and you’ll likely find students online shopping, playing The New York Times mini-games, deleting emails, texting their parents, checking fantasy football stats, sending break-up texts, receiving break-up texts — the opportunities online are endless.
All this does nothing to help our own learning at Middlebury — something we pay a significant amount of money each year to do — and it often distracts other students in the class. We must remember that a Middlebury education is a privilege; attending class is not just a 75 minute intermission from our social lives, but it is the main reason we all spend four years here. Consider ways of reconfiguring your relationship to technology, especially in class, to be one of serious intentionality. Think hard about how you are using your technology, and evaluate whether or not to use your device if it would detract, rather than collaborate with or reinforce, the learning environment curated for you in the classroom.
Of course, laptop computers are very helpful devices when it comes to enhancing and democratizing the learning environment. They are useful places for taking and storing large quantities of notes; means of accessing online readings and assignments; and, as is the case in computer science and data science courses, essential to the class itself. We acknowledge that in some ways, our portable devices have made learning and studying in college more convenient, accessible and ultimately more modern.
As of right now, there is no college-wide policy regarding screens. Many professors have already implemented screen bans in their classrooms, with certain ADA accommodations as exceptions. A school-wide ban on screens would be largely unproductive, given how some students using screens under disability accommodations in otherwise screenless classrooms may already feel isolated and scrutinized as the only student in a class typing. Additionally, online readings on Canvas make texts more accessible, as students often no longer have to purchase textbooks or waste excess paper to complete their readings.
In many ways, technology has been a huge benefit to learning and connections that are only possible online. For example, there are plenty of mutual aid networks that operate exclusively through apps like Instagram and Venmo. The readily accessible nature of these social media platforms certainly increases the efficacy of these efforts.
But what does a healthy and functional relationship with our screens actually look like, especially within the context of the college experience? It’s important to remember that having a cell phone is a very recent development for college students in the broader history of university life. Though we may have had a hard time imagining it, scores of Panthers past successfully coordinated group meals, found their friends on weekends and gathered to work on group projects without the instant access to communication granted by being able to text, call or track each other’s location.
We imagine that campus life may be more fulfilling if we weren’t so attached to our phones. There could be more spontaneity, more meals with people we don’t know, more stopping by someone’s room unannounced, more sitting around staring off into space until someone comes around we want to talk to, more conversations in the empty space before a class. So many options for connection and presence of mind become available to us when we put down our phones and prioritize in-person relationships.
Classes would certainly be more fulfilling without all the distractions from our laptops. A classroom of people with nothing to do but listen and think sounds far more engaging than a classroom of people scrolling through social media and shopping online. We understand this in theory, but it is hard for any of us to disconnect fully from our online lives.
Still, we are not without agency. Our time in college, living in a walkable community of people our age and attending classes all day, is a remarkable privilege. We invite you to think about how creating more distance from your screens might allow you to be more present in this rare space.
Next time you go to pull up the Wordle three minutes after sitting down for a lecture, think about what a rare and lucky thing it is that you are actually in a classroom when, for what may be the last time in your life, you are asked to do nothing but learn.
