cell phones/ texting
it is hard to keep students from being on their cell phones and texting while at externship. Even if there is a hospital policy about no cell phones many students will try to bring them along.
Does this really work, because some students just don't care, even if you made a specticle of them.
at the institution i work for we have a cell phone policy also,but every day during lecture i hear cell phone going off or vibrating on the desk.i have told the class that they have to put the phones away but of course not all do this.so what can i do next i can't take them away from them like you would in grade school.
Hi Sara,
I like the strict policy with texting. At my institution, if students are caught texting they are sent home, marked absent, time deducted, and points deducted.
Patricia
I give my students my classroom rules and on that it clearly states texting gets them sent home with time deducted.
Thanks Patricia. That sounds like a good strategy. We, as an institution, have discussed the inclusion of "professional points" as part of the overall grade. This may be a topic to revisit. Perhaps we could set up a system in which infractions will deduct from "professionalism points" and then positive behavior can add "professionalism points" back. The "professionalism points" could figure in to each course separately or in the overall GPA. The challenge for us would be again that the instructors actually do not grade anything with the exception of Finals. So each instructor would have to mark the professionalism points in the attendance book and then student services or DoE would have to administer the points. Right now we are a lockstep program but are hoping to move into a semester based curriculum in the near future. When we move to semester based perhaps we can have the instructors grade tests and lab projects.
Hi Crystal,
Perhaps, you can apply the policy by deducting points from their participation grade if a student gets caught with their cell phone.
Patricia
Hi James,
We have to show our students that they can really do without cell phones. What is the student going to do if the job prohibits cell phones?
Patricia
I agree that students could do without their cell phones in the classroom. The policies of most healthcare facilities (which is my teaching area) do prohibit cell phone use. They are not only a distraction but can interfere with some equipment.
Hi James,
Remember how life was without cell phones? Students can really make it in the classroom without cell phones. We have become way too dependent on cell phones. Some companies have a zero tolerance for cell phones.
Patricia
We have a policy that phones have to be muted or put on vibrate. Since we are dealing with people with jobs and families, it is almost impossible to totally do away with the cell phones. I will ask them if the call they just took is more important than the career for which they are preparing.
Wow. If only we could implement this where I work.
We are a lock-step program so in order to meet graduation requirements, students must take all classes. If I were to say a particular student is no longer accepted in a class, we would lose the student for the entire program. Thus, the retention rate becomes an issue. Any advise on how to apply the cell phone policy in this setting?
It might also be helpful to post flyers with this reminder. Just a suggestion... I'm not in a hospital setting and therefore not familiar with the reasoning for a policy which states that a student cannot bring a cell phone to work. What about family emergencies?
I teach adults and I thinks its so disrespectful when they come in and sit down and just because they pay they think they can be on their cell phones. it interups class time when i have to stop class and tell them to get off or move outside. They also think since they are adults they can do whatever they would like. i think its horrible. However there is no what to stop it!
Cell phones in my classes will be taken away on the second offense. One warning and then it's gone,never to return. If they do return the student is out of the class just as if it is a real work place.
I allow my students to have their cells available only because of the fact emergencies. But if it was left up to me they would not be allowed in class. I let my students know that if they act like adults they will be treated like an adult. Because sometimes some needs to be made an example of, this lets everyone know you mean business. I shouldn't have to repeat myself everyday about the same thing. I gets very frustrating.
Students are instructed that their phones are to be silent; if they are expecting an emergency call, the instructor is to be notified before class. Each student is assigned 25 professionalism points; when a student takes a call during class, the phone rings, or are seen texting, some, or all, of that students professionalism points are deducted. This has curbed a lot of the cell phone issues.
I explain the policy the first day. Cell phones are to be silent and if I catch a student texting in class I take the phone away. If I catch them with the cell phone during a test, I take the test and the student earns a 0 as the grade.
My opinion is that as Adult learner, they need to be in touch with their children. They are to leave the room instead if dirupting the class. At no time are they to be on anything but "Silent" mode. I know as a single mother, I want my children to be able to get in touch with me. I have it in my pocket and will check it after my patients exams in the clinical site. As a Professor , I will not check it during the class, I wait until break time, This is just how I run my clases and my life. SUE
I teach 6th grade during the day and they too like to push the rules about cell phones. Unfortunately many teachers do not follow the rules themselves so it is difficult to hold students to them. By allowing them to do what they want in 6th grade, they become the adults in my evening class who think the rules do not apply to them. I do bend a little at night if someone has a reason like a sick child or something similar.
