Written by: Genésis Ventura
Lisa Diller, a professor in the History and Political Studies Department, decided to experiment with screenless classrooms this semester.
Diller asks her students not to use technology for assignments or presentations in her classes, meaning no laptops or phones. Her classes are discussion-oriented except for one that is research-based and requires students to use laptops.
Diller chose to try this new classroom method because she noticed she was constantly distracted by technology in classes.
“I found myself not fully engaged in the class, and I also noticed that my students had similar challenges,” she said. “ … I saw that when students took notes on laptops, they often felt they needed to work on other things or answer emails and do research. And I have found that when I have my laptop, and I’m in a meeting with faculty or something like that, I frequently do it as well.”
Diller said she has used the same teaching style for 21 years, but this new no-technology rule has provided her with a way to alter her methods. She not only tells her students to avoid using online textbooks but now provides textbooks for them out of her own pocket. She provides physical copies of any content needed for class.
Diller has also changed the structures and locations of her classrooms. For example, she now seats students in a circle format facing each other.
“[I] picked classrooms as much as I could that have windows and natural light coming in so that it felt more natural,” she said.
Katie Hallock, senior general studies major, shared her thoughts on Diller’s new approach.
“Diller’s classroom experiment has been a successful endeavor in creating student presence,” Hallock wrote. “The lack of technology, and subsequently lack of multitasking, has created an environment of rich conversation and student engagement.
“I dislike technology as a learning tool, as helpful as it can be. Since so much distraction and multitasking [is] embedded into our modern western culture, this class has provided a much-needed reprieve from this sort of scattered thinking. ”
Diller said she surveyed her class at midterm and will survey them again at the end of the semester. Thus far, 85% of the surveyed students had a positive attitude and 15% were negative.
Diller expects the experiment to help decrease her use of technology and thinks it will benefit the students as well. She hopes to continue this experiment in the future and adjust according to survey results.