The average college student checks his or her cellphone about 11 times a school day, according to a new study.
The study, published last month, showed that more than 90 percent of students admitted to using their devices in class for non-class activities.
The study, conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, surveyed 777 students in six universities. More than two-thirds admitted to checking email or social networks in class on their mobile device or laptop.
UF was not one of the institutions surveyed.
Thomas Glenn, a UF graduate teaching assistant in French and Francophone Studies, said although he hates texting in his class, he knows people occasionally do it.
He said when he was teaching middle school, he would put students’ phones in a shoebox and call it jail.
But with students paying to take his class, he said, it’s the students’ responsibility to pay attention.
“If you’re not engaged, I can’t force you to be engaged,” he said.
Vicki Baker, a 20-year-old health science sophomore, said she thinks teachers can get discouraged when they see a classroom full of texting students.
“It portrays to them that we aren’t engaged,” she said. “It also makes them feel like they aren’t doing a good enough job to keep our attention.”
A version of this story ran on page 9 on 11/19/2013 under the headline "Most students use devices during class"
