Students at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts can no longer have phones, computers or any other electronic devices out during their classes unless approved by their professor. The new faculty approved policy is aimed at removing distractions from the learning experience.<\/p>\n
Dodge College\u2019s idea is that, in a world where technology has become as prevalent as the air we breathe, students find themselves magnetized to their devices. Whether it\u2019s scrolling in bed in the morning, listening to headphones through the halls or opening their laptops during a lecture, there is hardly a time when a device isn\u2019t present.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The policy cites research indicating that electronic devices can negatively impact students\u2019 ability to focus, retain information and remain present during lectures and discussions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExperimental and quasi-experimental studies consistently show that the mere presence of smartphones reduces available cognitive capacity and sustained attention,\u201d communication studies associate professor and media effects expert Sophie Janicke-Bowles said. \u201cEven when not actively used, phones can create ‘attentional residue,’ subtly pulling working memory resources away from lecture content.\u201d<\/p>\n
This cognitive strain identified in experimental studies appears to mirror the engagement concerns raised by the Dodge College faculty. Pavel Jech, associate dean of Dodge College, said professors felt as if their students weren\u2019t paying enough attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey felt that the primary reason why that wasn’t happening was because of the technology in their hands,\u201d Jech said.<\/p>\n
Along with lack of engagement, studies have shown a positive association with memory retention and undivided attention. Essentially, the more time students spend on devices while in class the less they actually learn.<\/p>\n
\u201cDivided attention disrupts elaborative processing \u2014 the kind of deeper thinking required for durable learning \u2014 leading to poorer recall and reduced conceptual understanding,\u201d said Janicke-Bowles.<\/p>\n
There have been mixed reactions from students to the change. Some see technology as a vital part of their education.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first reaction was a little confused and annoyed, because a lot of the work we do happens on laptops,\u201d said freshman writing for film and television major Sadie Ceserano. \u201cI understand (a) phone policy, which I think is helpful in some of my classes like screenwriting where we\u2019re doing specific work such as writing scripts, but for my lecture-based classes, it’s usually an essential tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, some said that in a creative environment, students can be positively influenced by taking a break from technology and resetting their brains.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a society that relies so much on social media and our screens, we often forget to look around us for inspiration,\u201d freshman writing for film and television major Anna Sprague said. \u201cYou get original ideas from experiencing life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition, research has shown that taking handwritten notes benefits memory more than typing it out on a computer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTyping can be efficient, but when students transcribe without processing, learning suffers,\u201d Janicke-Bowles said.<\/p>\n
Even with these findings, Jech acknowledged that technology remains essential in certain courses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I teach screenwriting classes, I have stopped requiring students to print out their scripts years ago, since the pandemic,\u201d Jech said.<\/p>\n
In a school built on creativity and innovation, it is important a culture of imagination is fostered. This is why at its core, some students argue the policy simply reinforces why they came to Dodge in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe come here for an education, and we pay a lot of money for this education, so I don\u2019t think that you\u2019d want to be on your phones when you are learning about stuff that you want to dedicate your life to,\u201d Sprague said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even among those unsure about the change, many agree that in order to see its impact, it is necessary to give it time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGive it a try. You always have your phone, which means your connection to the world 24\/7 \u2014 that’s a relatively new phenomenon,\u201d Jech said. \u201cIt might be the extent of your lifetime, but it hasn’t been there before, so enjoy those few moments away from that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the new policy is implemented in Dodge, its success may depend on time and the faculty\u2019s openness to meeting students halfway by creating policies meant to improve student engagement while still respecting situational flexibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Students at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts can no longer have phones, computers or any other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":{"0":"post-200288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-anaheim","9":"tag-anaheim-headlines","10":"tag-anaheim-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}