It is rare to see a student not interacting with technology.  A person's smart phone encapsulates everything that is used on a daily basis.  Whether it is searching something up on the internet, needing to communicate with someone, or needing to simply check the time, the go to device for students is the cell phone.  The smart phone is a great tool to use because of its accessibility and its main goal is to fit in the user's pocket and perform anything a computer can do.  Phone's is extremely useful for students inside and outside of the classroom, but are students becoming too dependent on their phones?

The main issue with explaining the problems caused by technology in the classroom is finding the perfect balance between a technological and effective learning environment.  Some technology is necessary within the classroom, but the cut off between not enough and too much is disputed among professors and intellectuals.  Some professors' believe that a classroom should be as technology free as possible, which means no computers, cell phones, or other devices which use the internet (Aagaard 92).  Inversely, some professors' believe that all technology should be allowed in the classroom (Aagaard 92).  The aspect which will be represented within this paper is the area between each of these arguments, and the steps which could be taken to try to create an ideal learning environment inside and outside the classroom.

Technology is essentially unavoidable in the current era, and therefore should not be excluded from any learning environment; however, it is necessary to understand where the information being searched is coming from, and how to derive a unique answer from the requested search.  An example of this is looking up a formula to be used in a math class.  It is reasonable to search up a formula on the internet but it is up to the user to understand and know how to use the formula and plug in the numbers to find a unique and self-developed answer.   Relating back to the title of the paper, technology should be used as an assistant for learning, not as a necessity.  Furthermore, within the classroom the goal should be learning the information being taught by the professor.  Outside irrelevant communication or impulse searching which occurs because of cell phones or computers should be considered a nuisance within the classroom.

Relating to the usage of technology outside the classroom, the first necessity is for the user of technology to remain organized and separate their social necessities and their educational necessities.  This means that someone working on a homework assignment should not be texting and doing homework at the same time.   Technology should only be used to assist the user with a problem, not completely solve the problem for them.  Even though technology is extremely useful when used correctly, issues which can occur because of the misuse of technology.  Some of these issues include the prioritization of classes because of time management, the lack of teacher to class communication, and the accessibility of going off task because of technology.

Throughout time, a college education has always been an indicator of success for humanity.  In just the last sixty years at the University of South Carolina, not only has the student population developed and expanded, but the technology surrounding the population has also completely changed.  From 1960 when the University of South Carolina only had an enrollment of 5,660 to the current year of 2016 when the enrollment is over quadruple that number at 32,027, the ability to obtain knowledge has changed significantly (USC).   In 1960 the technology available to students was completely inferior to what exists in the current time.  A few examples of these technological advancements include personal calculators, cell phones, computers, and most importantly for this argument: the internet.  The issue relating to the internet is that students in the present time can receive information too quickly.  Relating this back to the history of students at USC, in 1960 students had to put time and effort into every paper, assignment, and exam to thoroughly learn the information.  Fast forwarding to the current time, students have the luxury of using the internet to almost instantaneously receive the information or facts that are needed to complete an assignment.

The ability of technology to relay data instantaneously is the main reason that students tend to depend on technology.  Within the college classroom, one of the main problems is cheating.  Even though cheating is not completely reliant on technology, students being able to search up problems on their phone discretely is an issue.  The accessibility of being able to simply take out a cell phone during a lecture hall, turn it on, and search up a question is almost unidentifiable by a professor in a large classroom.   Not only does using a phone during a test not teach the cheater anything, but also it creates even more inequality between the students who actually study and the cheater himself. 

Time management can be analyzed in greater detail when it is related to the advancement of technology.  Technology is intended to assist students with time management through applications such as calendar and reminders, but these tools are not useful unless the user applies and commits themselves to scheduling beforehand.  Time management problems start with in class activities.  In a college environment approximately 42% of students use their computers for off task activities (Berry 65).  These off task activities which occur within the classroom commonly mean that the student is missing information which is being taught by the professor.  This missed information means that the student has to relearn the information outside of class, which leads to the conclusion that not paying attention during class wastes time outside of the classroom too.  

Time management problems create procrastination, which is the habitual nature to delay a task until later.  All people can be considered part of the "procrasti-nation", but the way people respond to procrastination separates the successful from the mediocre (Deshpande).  One of the main causes of procrastination is addiction to technology.  Because of the fact that internet articles and social media posts are usually very brief, the attention span of the average person diminishes proportionally to technology usage (Schwartz).  This type of procrastination as described by Schwartz relates to the least problematic form which is attention based procrastination.  Even though this form of procrastination increases the amount of time necessary to complete an assignment, usually the assignment still gets completed.  

Another form of procrastination is situational, which usually occurs when someone overloads their schedule causing multitasking to occur.  Situational procrastination can be defined as the prioritization of one assignment to another (Thatcher).  A sign of this style of procrastination is when students rank one assignment or class over another.  For example, if a student has a math test and a physics test the next day and the student prioritizes studying for physics, the student is then using situational procrastination in a negative way.  

Lastly, the style of procrastination which relates most directly to college students is habitual procrastination.  Habitual procrastination is an umbrella definition for the two types described above, but the definition changes from situational to habitual when procrastination becomes automatic in daily life (Aagaard 92).  Whenever a daily task becomes automated is the epitome of lack of time management.  Automation is the worst possible scenario for college students because the goal within a college classroom is to learn the information and apply it toward other subjects.  When doing an assignment with a goal just to finish it, the student is allocating the information to short term memory (Leslie 500).  Short term memory is useful sometimes, but when attempting to learn information in the classroom it is more efficient to store the information as long term memory so it can be used again later.  The way to allocate this important information into long term memory all depends on the amount of time it takes to learn the information.  Many students will try to learn an entire section the night before an exam, but this is not an effective use of time management (Taneja 143).  The most effective way to study for a test and remember the section is by studying over a length of time.  An example of this is creating flash cards.  The first day it is difficult to remember the answer or definition written on the back of the card, but after studying the flash cards for a week the information becomes easier since it is now allocated to long term memory.

Scheduling is becoming more and more difficult for college students as technology advances.  Relating historically to the University of South Carolina, if a student planned on finishing their homework once they returned to their dorm then students would usually fulfill the task at hand.  The only possible encounters that could have distracted students were commonly caused by human interactions.  Now, if a student has the same plans of completing an assignment once they return home in the current era they are faced with more distractions than ever before.  First of all, instantaneous communication is a problem for students because it affects their concentration short term, and their attention span long term (Aagaard 91).  Some instantaneous communication distractions include social media, text messages, email, or even non-related phone alerts.  All of these communication tactics have one common trait, an instinctive vibration or noise which the phone user memorizes (Aagaard 91).  Any type of sound, vibration, or even a phone screen light can completely distract someone from finishing an intended task.  Some of these distractions may not even apply to the user, which leads to more wasted time overall.  

A "troll", someone whose main goal is to distract people on the internet without any intent to provide useful information (Lanier 470).  This usage of a definition does not directly apply to time mismanagement within the classroom, but comparing a student's phone to a troll does make sense.  When studying, an issue for students' is staying away from their social media pages.  The phone is the catalyst which sparks the interest in these unwanted websites through either a notification or a vibration.  Other examples of email and other internet communication being a distraction is in the workplace as an adult.  As described by Mr. Campbell, checking his email and getting distracted from the assignment which was nearing its deadline almost cost him 1.3 million dollars (Richtel 482).  These two examples give real life scenarios of how phone and computer distractions can be more detrimental than helpful most of the time, and bad habits for students commonly become bad habits in the workplace also.

The communication between teachers and students is vital to having a self-sufficient classroom.  The only indicators USC currently has mandated to understanding the efficiency of a classroom is the professor ratings survey which is taken at the end of the semester.  Many universities are beginning to integrate new technology into classrooms which will help teachers analyze the efficiencies and deficiencies students have while learning a specific topic.  In a pre-internet era, the easiest way to quickly survey the class on their understanding of a question was either by them raising their hand or by the class asking questions (Taneja 146).  Now, teachers have much easier approaches both inside and outside the classroom allowing more flexibility in the teaching process.  Some devices which are used by USC include iClickers, Owl, Lon Capa, Phone Scantrons, and other devices which can be used immediately to determine a class' proficiency in a subject.  These devices aid the professors' because of the fact they can transmit a question over the internet and immediately receive an answer back.  An example of this is in lecture hall classes at USC.  In my Physics lecture iClickers are used to immediately answer a conceptual question which is displayed on the board.  The class then has about a minute to come up with an answer.  After the minute is up, the professor shows a pie chart which displays the amount of people within the class who chose each answer.  Based on the results, the professor can more effectively decide whether or not it is possible to move on or continue reviewing the information.

Technology is one of the main causes of distraction both inside and outside the classroom.  Not only do students tend to misuse technology, but when they are informed to "put their phones away", students tend to react negatively. One of the main reasons that this is the case is because students do not have the correct attitude in the classroom anymore.  An unwanted classroom attitude can be defined as the willingness of a student to use the internet within the classroom for off task topics (Taneja 143).  These off task topics which originally may be performed because of boredom or disinterest can evolve over time to the point where students will become permanent cyber-slackers (Berry 64).  Currently, teachers have little to no control over what students do on their laptops within the classroom which makes technology control even more difficult (Berry 67).  This creates an issue for teachers because even if they are trying to communicate to students because a non-responsive student who is not concentrating looks the same as a non-responsive student who is taking notes and learning during class (Blessinger).  These reasons listed above are why some teachers resort to a technology free classroom which also is not the correct option.  A technology free classroom leads to students falling behind more easily and makes note taking more difficult without having any real advantages (Richtel).  These problems definitely exist within the classroom, but solving the problem of being off task within and outside the classroom should not be accomplished by the removal of technology.  Instead, by more efficiently intertwining both technological and non-technological aspects of the classroom into student participation a classroom can create more communication between students and teachers can more accurately visualize the strengths and weaknesses of a class (Aagaard 95).  A class can be analyzed more easily if a teacher uses internet communication such as Dropbox, 

e-mail, and iClickers because communication and feedback could happen instantaneously.  In the instance of Dropbox, within a computer science class which I am taking, programming files can be immediately uploaded to a file which gets sent to the teacher assistants.  From there, the teacher assistants can more easily analyze the code and give the code writer a precise reason of why a code is or is not working.

To counteract these inefficiencies within the classroom, it is necessary to first create a plan that incorporates both professors and students.  From the professor's perspective, one of the main goals which has to be accomplished by the new plan is to control the students' ability to search the internet and limit what is accessible during class.  Currently, USC does not have any sort of internet blockers or website detectors which currently run through their wifi connection.  Based on current technology such as URL-blocking security systems, firewalls which will prevent certain websites from completely loading, and in-classroom cameras which exist to essentially spy on students to prevent off task internet searching, it is possible to create a filter which determines whether or not a website is fit for the classroom (Blessinger).  USC does currently have an acceptable use policy for the internet; however, when implemented this internet use policy is the same no matter where the student currently is on campus (AASL).  The first goal that should be met creating a more location specific acceptable use policy so that instructors have the ability to go farther than saying "get off your laptop".

Once USC succeeds in creating a technology policy for both inside and outside the classroom, it is possible to go into further detail on how more advanced technology can be used to completely control what websites students are able to get onto.  A problem which the university will immediately encounter is the fact that some areas on campus such as Russell House and student dorms should be areas of non-limited internet.  On the other hand, classroom buildings such as Humanities, Leconte, and Pettigru do classify as classroom buildings and should be limited.  The simplest way to accomplish this is by setting different parameters for each wifi router which is located on campus.  A router is a device used to provide access to the internet or a private computer network by transmitting its own radio waves (Thatcher).  This will be helpful within the classroom because if students are not able to access and receive alerts from social media websites then these websites are less likely to infiltrate the learning environment.  

Since USC already contains multiple wifi routers within each building, it should not be too difficult for USC to split the current wifi signal.  USC's current wifi signals include USC Student and USC Guest which are both accessible in most public locations on campus.  My plan is to make USC student and USC Guest not accessible within the classroom, but instead to create new wifi signals called USC Classroom and USC Teacher.  Within USC Classroom, social media and other blatantly off task websites will be denied to students by either a firewall or a URL-blocker so that students are assisted in staying on task within the classroom.  Since everyone at USC has to enter their personal information to get onto the USC Classroom server, USC Teacher's job is to be able to further limit what websites students can get onto during class.  By linking the USC Student wifi to each teacher's individual blackboard page.  The goal of doing this is to make sure no online cheating can be accomplished during tests.  Not only can the professor make sure nobody is cheating, but since blackboard tells the professor who is the culprit, the cheater can then be caught.

On the other hand, outside the classroom activity is also vital for student technological success within the classroom.  Unlike in the classroom technology, it is impossible to have a moderation technique since home internet has to be used for both school and personal activities.  Instead of proposing a technological advancement as was proposed for in the classroom activities, the out of classroom adjustment will instead be accomplished through changing the user's lifestyle.  This will be accomplished in two major ways: scheduling and limitation.

One of the main problems that students have is that procrastination rules their lives.  By scheduling their daily life by the hour, it is easier to not only avoid procrastination, but it is also lowers stress levels (Blessinger).  By keeping up with a schedule, and highlighting what tasks have been finished and what tasks have not been accomplished within the day, it is possible to create the next day's schedule and so on.  This new schedule then creates a routine, and a routine means that something has become habitual for the user.  This new habitual scheduling then replaces the procrastination techniques that existed beforehand leading to success for the user.

Next, if scheduling is not successful for the user, it may be necessary for the user to be more drastic with their studying and homework.  The most serious way of limiting technology when doing homework is by going to a secluded area and removing all unnecessary technology from the studying atmosphere.  By removing all unwanted factors such as cell phones and social media from studying the user is less likely to be distracted.  

In conclusion, technology in the classroom is vital in the current era.  Most students have goals of becoming successful in their field of study, and being able to control and manipulate their technology usage is the first step to being ready for the real world.  These steps outlined for the university are not meant to strip the freedoms from students, but instead are being proposed to help classrooms become more interactive.  Student and teacher communication is vital to having an interactive classroom, and the first step to making this happen is to help students eliminate social media, texting, and other irrelevant topics from the classroom.  If these precautionary strategies are successful in removing unwanted technology from the classroom, then professors will have more time to focus on what really matters: getting an education and preparing students for the real world.

