The iPads have officially become a problem. They're distracting for nearly everyone, but she was the hold out--maybe the ONE person in class who had not succumbed to its power. Lately, that has changed.
I've always feared this day because it means there is no hope.
The first to fall were those who would have fallen without the iPad. The students who gaze out the window, text on their phones, or write notes to keep themselves busy during the 85 minutes they refuse to pay attention.
The next batch were truly lured. Normally attentive, they simply could not refuse the temptation to check emails and grades, and "multi-task" during the class period. This group frequently will click or swipe to hide geometry graphics or conjugation charts as a teacher approaches. And in their minds, what they're doing is totally justifiable.
But this last group to fall, to yield to the intoxicating glow of the iPad screen is the back-breaking straw. These are the ones who MAKE the class function--without which there would be no class discussion, no As on tests and essays, no excitement and enthusiasm to the activities.
On Tuesday, I approached her desk and saw the familiar full screen swipe--the tell tale sign she was not on task and trying to hide what she was occupied with before I could see it. Then, on Thursday, during class discussion, her eyes were on the screen more than they were on anything else. Her typing and swiping giving away her disengagement--her utter and total lack of investment in the class's debate about Gawain's completion of the Heroic Journey.
It has to stop. We have to take the iPads away from the teachers.
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