Want better grades? Experts say, ditch the phone.
So says , senior lecturer. Her course 鈥淐OM 321: Social Media and Interpersonal Communication鈥� requires students to examine what effect their social media and technology use has on their perceptions, identities, and relationships.
But don鈥檛 be caught using your phone in class.
鈥淭he rule is no phones,鈥� Proulx said. 鈥淚f a student is even touching a phone, it鈥檚 one point off their final average.鈥�
Her justification: Researchers have found that a student with a phone on their desk will score lower on an assessment than one who keeps their phone in their backpack.
In the course of the semester, Proulx requires students to analyze their social media usage for a week, asking questions such as, 鈥淗ow many days, weeks, years did you waste on myspace? You can鈥檛 get that time back. What could you have been doing? And just because it鈥檚 on social media, is that really what鈥檚 going on in life?
Students are often aghast at their self-study. 鈥淚鈥檓 a horrible person,鈥� one student told Proulx. 鈥淚鈥檝e been wasting my life.鈥�
Proulx鈥檚 response: 鈥淯se it, but understand it. Don鈥檛 let it dictate life.鈥�
Students are so animated and opinionated in Proulx鈥檚 class that she said she seldom gets through an entire lesson plan. It鈥檚 no wonder with the questions she asks. An example: In 2017, Saudi Arabia became the first country to give citizenship to a robot named Sophia. 鈥淐an we replace a person with a robot and how does that translate into real life?鈥� she said. 鈥淐an it die? Is it alive enough for you?鈥�
Makes you look at your phone a bit differently, doesn鈥檛 it?