Texting during class is an everyday experience for no-preference freshman Kathlyn McQuillan and many other students, according to a recent survey released by Wilkes University administrators in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
About 91 percent of 269 students surveyed at Wilkes University said they have texted during class, and almost half said it was easy to do without their instructor noticing.
According to the study, about 10 percent of students admitted to texting during a test or exam.
However, only 3 percent texted about exam-related material.
However, only 3 percent texted about exam-related material.
McQuillan said she texts every day in most of her classes. In an attempt to minimize distractions to other students, she keeps her phone on vibrate and hides it in her lap or under her desk, McQuillan said.
“I don’t think my professors really notice,” she said. “I normally see everyone else doing it, too.”
At MSU, statistics and probability professor Dennis Gilliland, who teaches lecture classes in rooms that can seat up to about 350 students, said in an e-mail he has not noticed texting in his classes, although he cannot speak for all his students.
“Admittedly, my focus tends to be on students sitting toward the front of the class, so I cannot speak to the issue in regard to students sitting at the back of the lecture hall,” he said in the e-mail.
Texting in class might negatively affect students in school, which might not come as a surprise to some, said Linda Jackson, a psychology professor who studies technology and youths, in an e-mail.
