Survey shows 91 percent students text in class
Dec. 2, 2010— Today's edition of Inside Higher Ed included this eyebrow-raising story about students texting in class.
University Measures Extent of Texting in Class
Faculty members everywhere complain about students who text in class, but professors at Wilkes University decided to measure the extent of the practice. Deborah Tindell and Robert Bohlander, psychology professors, surveyed 269 students anonymously. Among the findings:
95 percent of students bring their phones to class every day.
91 percent have used their phones to text message during class time.
Almost half of respondents said it was easy to text in class without instructors being aware.
99 percent said they should be permitted to retain their cell phones while in class.
62 percent said they should be allowed to text in class as long as they don’t disturb their classmates. (About a quarter of the students stated that texting creates a distraction to those sitting nearby.)
10 percent said that they have sent or received text messages during exams, and 3 percent admitted to transmitting exam information during a test.
Not surprising
At least in the UWT Masters program, geared towards the already working adult, it is to be expected of professional to be constantly connected.
Common courtesy applies. As long as the phone is set to vibrate before ring or the volume set extremely low, it should be fine. Sometimes vibrate is actually louder than a really low volume, depending on the phone.
Texting during exams however, especially exam information, is unforgivable.