Rate My Professor / Cell Phones in Class

[LisaR]

Does anyone use ratemyprofessor.com to review college professors? What I find amazing about the reviews that I read are all the people that make it a point to say things like, "professor HATES cell phones" or "Don't even consider taking your cell phone out because she will have a fit."

Didn't these kids go to school, church or other functions where cell phone usage would be inappropriate? Why is this such a shock that a professor doesn't want you to use your cell phone while s/he is trying to teach? I think every professor I have looked up tonight has some comment about cell phones in the review. I just can't get over the fact that some people think that they need to warn others not to use their cell phones during class or that they give the professor a lower rating because they couldn't text.

 

[My sister's princess]

Does anyone use ratemyprofessor.com to review college professors? What I find amazing about the reviews that I read are all the people that make it a point to say things like, "professor HATES cell phones" or "Don't even consider taking your cell phone out because she will have a fit."

Didn't these kids go to school, church or other functions where cell phone usage would be inappropriate? Why is this such a shock that a professor doesn't want you to use your cell phone while s/he is trying to teach? I think every professor I have looked up tonight has some comment about cell phones in the review. I just can't get over the fact that some people think that they need to warn others not to use their cell phones during class or that they give the professor a lower rating because they couldn't text.

I have had one, and only one professor who I KNOW HATES cell phones. I wouldn't dare touch mine in his class.

 

[LisaR]

I have had one, and only one professor who I KNOW HATES cell phones. I wouldn't dare touch mine in his class.

So would you use yours in other classes if the professor doesn't HATE it? This is where my confusion comes from. I didn't think it was appropriate to use a cell phone in ANY class regardless of how the professor feels. I must really be getting old.

 

[My sister's princess]

So would you use yours in other classes if the professor doesn't HATE it? This is where my confusion comes from. I didn't think it was appropriate to use a cell phone in ANY class regardless of how the professor feels. I must really be getting old.

I have been known to use my phone in class, not going to lie. I don't really think it is appropriate, but, I do...... The class I did this the most in was one that was a "death by powerpoint"

On a side note, the professor who HATES phones has now given me permission to keep my phone on me and leave when it rings (DH is away, and I never know when I will get another phone call)

 

[Luv Bunnies]

If I was trying to teach, I wouldn't want students texting and I wouldn't want phones ringing or beeping in my class. And I don't think it's fair to rate professors based on whether or not they allow cell phones in their classes.

I went to college in the mid-80s so cell phones weren't even an issue. I had professors who said they didn't allow cetain things in their classes. One said not to bring food to class because it made him sick to watch people chewing. Another said not to read the newspaper in her class or she would kick you out. My favorite professor said, "If you're going to come to my class late, don't come at all." I made a point of being there 10 minutes early. The first and only guy who showed up late that sememster was shown the door and told in front of everyone to come to the next class on time. No one ever showed up late again!

To me, these little quirks are what make professors fun and interesting!

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

I used rate my professor a lot. (a little too much!) However, I have never seen a comment about cell phones. (I have however, seen people complain because the teacher gives homework or *gasp* actually grades papers). I too don’t understand why a student would complain about not being able to use a phone in class. It’s disrespectful to the teacher. Plus, they are there to learn, not to text!

 

[mhsjax]

I saw a clip on Yu Tube I think, or maybe it was posted here at Dis. Anyway, this professors hated phone, and this crazy kid was in the front row and on his phone while the professor was lecturing. The professor never broke stride, walked over to the student, never stopped lecturing, grabbed the phone and threw it across the room. It was hysterical.

 

[kimmar067]

Does anyone use ratemyprofessor.com to review college professors?

...my DS did, and BOY did HE get the wrong info about HER!

 

[merryweather20]

If I was trying to teach, I wouldn't want students texting and I wouldn't want phones ringing or beeping in my class. And I don't think it's fair to rate professors based on whether or not they allow cell phones in their classes.

I went to college in the mid-80s so cell phones weren't even an issue. I had professors who said they didn't allow cetain things in their classes. One said not to bring food to class because it made him sick to watch people chewing. Another said not to read the newspaper in her class or she would kick you out. My favorite professor said, "If you're going to come to my class late, don't come at all." I made a point of being there 10 minutes early. The first and only guy who showed up late that sememster was shown the door and told in front of everyone to come to the next class on time. No one ever showed up late again!

To me, these little quirks are what make professors fun and interesting!

I had some professors with those little "quirks" and they got old fast. I have no interest in spending $1,000s of dollars for them to rant on a late student or a single cell phone ring. Heck the professors that were the most psychotic about late students tended to be very cavalier about their own punctuality and the timeliness of marking papers.

I had a fantastic professor, who even snagged us free textbooks for one class. My memory of her is clouded however, by a crazy rant in my final year of classes. I had this professor for three years and in my last year of class a students cell phone went off. She lost it, given that it was the only time this happened in 3 full years of teaching my stream she should have simply ignored it. Nope, when the student left class she stopped the lesson and fumed and fumed until he returned at which point she tore him a new one.

I would certainly leave a comment like the OP mentioned for this professor.

 

[starrzone]

I've been in school for ages, so I've seen more than my fair share of quirky profs and rude students!

- in one class, this guy would come in, sit near me almost EVERY time, and listen to his mp3 player the entire time. You could clearly hear the music which made it very hard to concentrate. I don't know why no one else said anything to the prof, but I did, and he stopped soon after.

- in another class, these 2 friends would come in and sit in the same front row seats every day because they were 2 of the very few with access to a power plug for a laptop. They spent about 95% of the class playing online games with each other, and it was VERY distracting, as they were in the sight line of pretty well the whole class. I "told" on them to the prof, who made an announcement the next class.

- another prof designated a "laptop row" because she had gotten so many complaints about laptop users from fellow students. If you wanted to take a laptop to class, you HAD to sit in that row (except, of course, if you had a medical or some other valid excuse).

Cell phones haven't been nearly as big a problem; I don't have a problem at all with people texting during class, but talking on the phone would be a bit too much for me. I'd definitely say something to the prof about students talking on the phone.

 

[PlainJane]

I always ignore those reviews. I also ignore the reviews that complain about the teacher expecting them to show up to class to receive a passing grade.

The things people will complain about on that site amaze me.

 

[mumto2]

DH teaches at a local community college. One night, during an exam, a student takes out her cell and places a call. During the exam. In the classroom. And then gets upset when DH tells her she can turn in her exam and take the conversation outside, or hang up and take the test.

 

[starrzone]

DH teaches at a local community college. One night, during an exam, a student takes out her cell and places a call. During the exam. In the classroom. And then gets upset when DH tells her she can turn in her exam and take the conversation outside, or hang up and take the test.

That's crazy! I would have gone off on her then and there!

 

[Sparx]

My school has its own professor rating system thats run by students. I actually don't notice much about cell phones being said on there. Our pages about professors is mostly a yes/no questionnaire though, not just open ended questions about the class.

 

[RitaZ.]

My school has its own professor rating system thats run by students. I actually don't notice much about cell phones being said on there. Our pages about professors is mostly a yes/no questionnaire though, not just open ended questions about the class.

My university has SPOT (Student Perception Of Teaching) evaluations, which students complete at the end of the semester. The professor is not in the classroom when they're completed, they are sealed and a student turns them in to the department secretary. The evaluations are done anonymously and there is a section for students to write in additional comments; which the professors get to read later on. The results are made public through the university's web site.

I checked the reviews for one professor on RMP. They were mostly negative. I read his SPOT reviews and they were glowing. He turned out to be an excellent professor and exactly as rated in the SPOT evaluations.

Ringing cell phones haven't been a problem in my classes. Some students do text. I sit in the front row to avoid any distractions.

 

[alisonwonderland64]

I do use rate my professor when I can, but I've never seen anyone complaining about cell phone strictness before. If I did, I don't think I'd pay attention to it, because I think that's just been sort of expected in all of my classes that cell phones should be silenced/turned off during class (oftentimes the professor will explicitly say that at the beginning of the semester, but that's about it). I will admit that I look at my phone sometimes during class (just to check the time or if my phone vibrates and I know it's from my mom or something important), but it's always during a break or when I'm not supposed to be paying attention or doing work. I really haven't seen too many instances of blatant cell phone usage during classes though--I've seen some people texting under the table or discreetly checking their phones inside their bags or something, but that's about it. I've taken mostly small classes though (less than 20 people), so that probably has a lot to do with it since it's much more obvious when someone isn't paying attention.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I'm a good student, I have a 4.0 (and I'm taking difficult classes) and I use my cell phone in class. I use it to text to my friends outside school and those who are in other classrooms or who are across the room. I also use it to get updated Yankees games. But, I make sure the professor can't see it either, and it's on vibrate. But none of them have come out saying they hate cell phones.

But, I also use ratemyprofessors to check out reviews of the teachers. I have all day/night free to take whatever classes I need Mon-Thurs so I just use it to help me decide who I want to take the class with.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

...my DS did, and BOY did HE get the wrong info about HER!

My DS uses it and he has always gotten what was posted UNLESS the college decides to put a TA in or a TBA in to teach the class then it is a wild card.

 

[bballmom56]

My DH is a college professor and that is one of his biggest problems. It is amazing what kids will (or will not) do when paying big bucks for an education. My kids (college grad. and current college student) and I have given him suggestions to handle it, but he won't make a scene. In one of DD's college classes, a student's phone rang and the professor answered it (and not very nicely)! The student got the message. Except in very rare cases, you can't go a maximum of 90 minutes (most classes are less than that) without pulling out your phone? Remember when we didn't HAVE cell phones?

DH's other issue is laptops - his college "gives" each student a laptop (Ha! It's in the cost of the tuition, nothing was "given"), so they think they are entitled to use it wherever and whenever they want. He tried allowing them, but knew they would not be used for good purposes, like taking notes. He was right - they were surfing, IMing, playing games, emailing etc. and the tap-tapping on all the keyboards was most annoying. So he doesn't allow them in class.

And late students or those who just get up and leave in the middle? Very distracting and disrespectful to the rest of the class and the professor.

We have always found RMP to at least have a grain of truth to them. You have to decide if the traits people are reporting about are important to you. Like someone else said, if students complain about a professor not liking cell phones, or something dumb like that, we would totally ignore it - or actually, that might make us like the professor ever more

 

[LisaR]

I'm a good student, I have a 4.0 (and I'm taking difficult classes) and I use my cell phone in class. I use it to text to my friends outside school and those who are in other classrooms or who are across the room. I also use it to get updated Yankees games. But, I make sure the professor can't see it either, and it's on vibrate. But none of them have come out saying they hate cell phones.

But, I also use ratemyprofessors to check out reviews of the teachers. I have all day/night free to take whatever classes I need Mon-Thurs so I just use it to help me decide who I want to take the class with.

Why do you note that you are a good student and a 4.0? Being disrespectful is being disrespectful. If you were a bad student with a 1.75 gpa, it wouldn't make it any better. I get the occasional emergency but I can guarantee you that the Yankees score can wait. Maybe your professors haven't said anything but I can assure you that they all find the behavior to be disrespectful.