I was at an event on the weekend when I was surprised by this sign.

Slide from Auckland Writers Readers Festival
I thought that cellphones had been around for so long that we all knew the social conventions for turning them off or at least turning them to silent in a public lecture.* I had a bit of a laugh when one of the presenters apologised for having her phone with her on the stage. Her watch was at the shop being repaired so she was using her phone as a timepiece. I use mine as a watch too and I’ve seen other people use their phones as torches.
All of these thoughts went through my head as I took notes – using my cellphone. As I tapped away I wondered what other people thought. Would they think I was texting? Was my habit of putting the phone down after every note reinforcing that? It can’t have looked that dodgy because none of the volunteers asked me to stop. I was a little disappointed by this as I’d psyched myself up for outraged defence. “I’m not texting I’m taking NOTES!”
Honestly, using my cellphone was so much easier than carrying around a notebook and pens. I’ve also started taking my laptop to meetings so I can type my notes up directly rather than trying to decipher my handwriting later. This seems like a logical and sensible timesaving decision. Maybe it’s just local government but this is behaviour outside the box. And yes, I’m deliberately referencing last year’s LIANZA Conference.
I was on the live-blogging team at Conference 2008. It was my first experience of lugging around a laptop and having access to the internet during a session. I found it challenging and an excellent way to take notes. I’m a reflective thinker so I like having good notes to go back to. Some of the comments I heard later surprised me. The one that sticks in my head is that it was appalling that ‘someone’ checked their email during a session. The comment wasn’t about how atrocious it was that the ‘someone’ felt obliged to check in but that they were disrespecting the presenter. The implication was that if the person was taking notes using a pen and paper they wouldn’t be doing anything other than taking notes and paying attention. False. I’ve planned a whole new library programme with pad and pen in a lecture from conceptual idea to implementation when I’ve been bored. (Not a LIANZA session I hasten to add.) Why this assumption that using technology is any different?
Admittedly the back chat channel can become distracting. There’s a greater potential for secret conversations via relatively silent technological means – the buzzing alternative to passing notes in class. But…isn’t that my problem to solve? I’m the learner.
I have to admit that I don’t get it. So what if I’m checking my emails or surfing the internet when I’m at a lecture? So what if I twitter during a presentation? Don’t I have to take responsibility for my own learning?
I’d be really interested to hear your opinion on using laptops, pdas etc in a learning situation. Do you think they help or hinder?
* There were still a few phones that burbled away cheerfully as their owners made a mad scramble though their pockets, bags and coats trying to locate the dammed thing and turn it off.
Read Full Post »