ERIC Number: EJ1255798
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Aug
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-1726
EISSN: N/A
Managing In-Lecture Media Use: The Feasibility and Value of a Split-Class Policy
Parry, Douglas A.; le Roux, Daniel B.; Cornelissen, Laurenz A.
Journal of Computing in Higher Education, v32 n2 p261-281 Aug 2020
High levels of digital media use have become a feature of university lectures. While certainly capable of supporting learning outcomes, studies indicate that, when media use is off-task, it presents as a disruption, distracting both users and those around them from academic tasks. In this study an exploratory, mixed-methods assessment of a media use policy for a semester-long course is presented. This policy divided the lecture theatre into two sections, one for those who wished to use digital devices and one for those who did not. Such a policy empowered students to leverage the value of media, if desired, while affording those who wished not to use media, or be disrupted by their peers' use of media, a degree of protection from distracting cues. Findings indicate that those who consistently selected the same side performed better than those who moved from side to side. Two post-course focus groups revealed that, while having some limitations, the policy was well received by the participants and heightened their awareness of the possible distractions of off-task media use, enabling them to identify and maintain a strategy for their in-lecture attentional allocation and behaviour.
Descriptors: Multimedia Instruction, Audiovisual Aids, Higher Education, Attention, Educational Policy, Handheld Devices, Policy Formation, Student Empowerment, College Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A