An analog lament by a digital savant
In almost every class I’ve taken in the past two or three years, sometime while covering the syllabus, the instructor says something like: “Turn your phones off and put them away. No texting in class.”
Every time I hear those words, I want to stand up and shout: “I’m not texting!”
Now, I grant that some, possibly even most, people using digital devices while in class are probably not paying attention, but I contend that some–and that some is probably a larger number than most might expect–are paying attention and using their electronic device for the productivity enhancements it provides.
Unfortunately for those who are using their smart phones to take notes and such, the deck is stacked against them. Most people assume that someone typing furiously on a slide-out keyboard or on a touch screen is texting a friend or playing solitaire. To make matters worse, many people are, so the ones who aren’t find explaining their activity almost impossible.
However, the fact remains that some of us are not texting but, rather, are paying attention and taking notes.
I am a product of the digital age. I lose paper, and I rarely look at manual notes once they’ve been written. But key information collected in a Word document I can search is something I understand and use everyday. And, what better way to create that information than on my smart phone that was a lot cheaper than a laptop, that has the capability, and that I am unlikely to forget like a pad of paper.
At some point, we all have to accept that technology has changed society, and the advent of digital everything is a part of that change. If we can’t figure out how to handle electronic devices we can see, what are we going to do when they become so small they can’t be seen or are implanted?
So, the next time, if you see someone in a classroom typing furiously away on a phone, don’t assume what they’re doing; ask. You might be surprised at the answer you get:
“I’m not texting, I’m taking notes.”
Dennis L Hitzeman is a lifelong technophile who wrote this column on his HTC Fuze while waiting on the rest of his class to arrive at the Dayton Art Institute. No, he wasn’t texting