College students aren’t lazy – they’re preoccupied.
The average woman college student spends 10 hours a day on their cell phone and men spend eight according to a Baylor University study.
That is in stark contrast with the number of hours college students study: 10-13 hours a week, less than two hours a day according to College Parents of America.
If students study during one of those 10 hours a day they normally spend on their cell phones, their studying time would increase from two hours to nine hours – more than quadruple the time they currently spend studying.
This large gap in cell phone use and study time, 10 hours a day verses 10 hours a week, tells us that we must increase study time, decrease the amount of time we spend on our cell phones, or bridge the gap another way.
If we combine the time studying and using our cell phone, it could benefit everyone; it’s a win-win scenario. Instead of trying to inhibit the use of cell phones, which would be nearly impossible at this point, we should be using it as a form of education.
Schools would benefit from putting lectures and notes in the form of an app so students can study on the go and don’t have to haul textbooks around. Many schools and classes do this and it is incredibly helpful. If I am idle I can go onto my iPhone and study the Quizlets I make for tests. I can also check Blackboard on my iPhone.
So what is next? Easily accessible lecture videos, notes, links to valid online resources and Ebooks. I think these are the areas in which Oklahoma Christian University is lacking. Blackboard is useful in regards to checking on assignments, but too few teachers actually, frequently use it.
Some teachers even switch back and forth between means of communicating assignments with their students, printed assignment sheets, email, Blackboard, a server. This makes it difficult for students to access information because they never know where it is going to be.
The reason students use their cell phone so much is because it is convenient, immediate and multipurposeful. Smartphones can replace not only regular phones and cameras but also GPSs, computers, schedule planners, alarm clocks, flashlights, credit cards, etc.
With so many purposes, cell phones are indubitably going to consume our time as college students. The trick is to use it consistently to our advantage as students and educators.
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