Smart Phones Don't Make Us Dumb

Pace Nicholas Carr and urban myth, but no, they do not. Not phones, not Google, not video games. Evidence says NO. Then, why do we believe that (if not ourselves) our students are growing less curious, more distant, less engaged...well, dumber?

The NY Times has an opinion and some research that answers the question. "It may be that digital devices have not left us unable to pay attention, but have made us unwilling to do so." 

OK. Next question: WHY would my students be unwilling to listen to me? Perhaps because there are always other options at their finger tips and our student know that they have access to other forms of knowledge acquisition via the 3+ devices they're often carrying on their person. 

I did a poll in class of mobile devices being carried. The winner pulled out SIX: phone, iPod, laptop, Kindle, FitBit... and a mini-GPS he uses on his bike.

Last year, another student walked into my class wearing a t-shirt that said "I don't have ADD. I'm just not listening to you."

Mobile devices don't make us dumb. They give us options. Perhaps they make us smarter, putting information at our fingers. Let's start talking about how we could leverage those smart options to engage learners and change teaching practice? The Faculty Resource Center has tea, coffee treats and bright, shiny technology tools that could help us hold these conversations.