Students at WSU are pressured by some professors to avoid using their cell phones, computers and other electronic devices while in class.

But does putting away personal technology devices actually help students pay attention?

Escaping your cell phone or laptop for an hour-long class can seem like forever, but it would help individuals focus and stay on track in class.

Psychology professor Laurie Jean Smith-Nelson, who teaches the ‘human sexuality’ course at WSU, said she can tell when students are not engaged during her lectures.

“Students would complain to me about other students using technology during class time,” Smith-Nelson said.

What students do in their space in class impacts other people around them, as students can see what others are doing on those devices and get distracted, Smith-Nelson said.

When she started teaching, Smith-Nelson banned laptops and cell phones to keep students focused on her lecture.

After, she implemented a seating chart, technology and attendance policies because of student complaints. One year after her policies were put in place, the average grade of her class went up one entire letter grade.

“Taking notes with a laptop is just transcribing what the professor is saying; hand writing notes is processing the information and thinking about it and deciding what is important,” Smith-Nelson said.

As time in college passes, WSU students should worry about missing out on significant material that could have been obtained in class if they were not distracted by their personal technology devices.

Taking the four years of education we are receiving at WSU into account, class time is valuable now and even more valuable for future endeavors.

“Every distraction disconnects you from the material, and you lose,” according to the text entitled “The A Game” by Kenneth J. Sufka.

Sufka’s work is a short book that outlines good study habits to follow if individuals want to stay on top of classes.

“If your train of thought is disrupted for just a second, it may take a minute or more for you to get back on track with the lecture,” Sufka said in “The A Game.”

By missing additional material from lecture, students may overlook important topics or snippets from the lecture, Sufka said.

Avoiding personal technology devices during class time will help students focus better on listening and taking notes.

It is essential for WSU students to completely immerse themselves into the material presented in their lecture classes. By doing so, they will retain more information useful for not only their assignments, but also for their tests.

If students would hand write notes and actively listen to their professors, they would benefit from the whole class time without distraction.

Kellie Langan is a junior communication major from Bellevue. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.