Rate My Professor / Cell Phones in Class

[golfgal]

I looked up DS's prof's for next fall, looks like most of his teachers are well liked anyway, except his math teacher. She didn't have a single good comment about her . I hope he doesn't find this site before school starts.

 

[paintnolish]

I HATE to see people using their phones in class. Most think teachers can't see/hear the clickety-clack of texting. I think most are too nice to say anything. I did have a professor who would answer a student's cell phone and/or put it up front for the remainder of a class if it rang or a student wasd caught with it out. Aside from emergencies, which I think you could make a teacher aware of before class, most people can be away from a phone for the duration of a class. I know one PP mentioned her husband was deployed, and I think that is warranted, however, most communications can wait until outside of class.
As for Rate My Porfessor, I have looked at it. I think it isn't much different than asking friends for their opinions on a professor. It has to be taken with a grain of salt. Often, disgruntled students use it as a place to anonymously vent.

 

[kimmar067]

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.

....actually, one day there were a couple of students texting on their cells and she got so infuriated that she basically cursed at the class, canceled it, and stormed out! Wouldn't it have been more professional to dismiss those students and begin teaching - ESPECIALLY SINCE I'M PAYING GOOD MONEY FOR MY DS TO BE THERE??

 

[bballmom56]

I looked up DS's prof's for next fall, looks like most of his teachers are well liked anyway, except his math teacher. She didn't have a single good comment about her . I hope he doesn't find this site before school starts.

We have found that trend in the more difficult courses - and math can certainly fit that category for some people. It seems the more difficult the courses, the more negative the reviews. I would think that is probably because some students struggle more in the difficult courses, so blame it on the prof. because they couldn't grasp the material.

I just reviewed some of the RMPs for professors at DS's college. The profs in chemistry and math get mixed reviews. Some students whine and say the profs go too fast or seem to like the smarter students more. Then other students chime in and say how great the prof is because they actually teach and require the class to read, research and do work. So many students today want things handed to them.

DS had 2 profs for math and history for summer classes where my DH works. He often spent more time commuting (1 1/2 hours) than he did in a class that was supposed to meet for 4 hours. The history prof. canceled three classes out of only 12 and kept each class less than 2 hours. The only class that went 2 hours was when each student had to do a presentation during which she was texting. And guess what? Her RMP score is very high, but ask DS and he will tell you what a joke it was. It was the same for his math class - no tests, never kept more than 2 hours. His RMP is very similar to the history person.

So take RMPs with a grain of salt.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Youngest ds is using it. I dont think my other 2 did. Almost all the professors he picked were good. Just 1 that was not good but he had no other choice in class selection.

Also the worst thing he found and the only class he didnt reseach was gym. He picked tennis and the teacher is rated horribly. He is changing the class next week. He said I am not having a gym class mess up my gpa!! I dont think there were cell phone comments. Maybe but he didnt tell me about it.

 

[kidzmom3]

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.

so you had a great professor for 3 years. They made 1 mistake (you consider it a mistake or a lack of judgement) in those 3 years; and you would leave negative comments about them? That is so wrong to me, that I truly do not understand what your motivation was.

 

[ksumn1]

I use RMP before I register for classes each semester, along with comments I've garnered from friend and other students. I tend to ignore the disgrunteled posts like "too hard, shows favortism" or "totally hot" since they are usually negative becasue a student failed, didn't put in effort or because I really don't care if the professor is hot or not.

I use it mostly to get a feel for how helpful the professor is IF you need and ask for additional help, the type of work required or type of tests give (lots of nightly homeowrk, 3 essays, many or few daily quizzes, grades only from tests, etc) because I often do well on quizzes and homework but not as well on tests, especially when a large volume of material is covered in one test. Like my Geology class last semester, we covered 5 or 6 chapters a test, which consisted of 8 or 9 diagram questions (you had to draw and label the diagrams) and long answer questions, then 30 multiple choice questions). If we had an exam after 2 chapters, I would have easily made an A becasue the info was still fresh. But even studying for a week prior, I made low B's or a high C (one F) on the tests. Had all my classes been that way, my GPA would have suffered.

So far, I've found RMP pretty accurate for this type information.

As far as cell phones, I have 2 children. I keep my phone on vibrate during class but I do tell each professor at the start of class my situation. My DH works out of town so if anything happens to the kids at school and I get a call I WILL answer it discreetly and quietly. But ONLY if it's the kids school, not my DM, DH a friend, etc. Even the strict professors have been understanding except one. On a side note, I try to sit on the end, near the exit so if I do have to leave, I don't disrupt class.

 

[gina2000]

Turn the damned cell phone off when you are in class. You are paying good money to listen to whatever the professor has to say. You cannot honestly say that you are giving your undivided attention to someone while texting your thoughts to another.

PS. You aren't so important that a message can't wait. Barring grave illness or death, everything else can wait 50 minutes.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

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.

If he told me it was disrespectful to him, then I would put it away. He would tell us because he lets us know what he dislikes and doesn't care about. Cell phones are one of these things he has said he doesn't care about. He says, he's giving us the information we need and it's up to us to apply it. He doesn't even care if someone doesn't come to class at all, as long as they make it to the midterms and final. It's the students that are responsible for themselves, not the teacher... or at least at the college level.

He's a VERY good teacher though. I've never missed a class, his tests are hard but he teaches the information VERY well. If you don't come to class, then you miss out on a lot of information... and like he says, it's the students problem not his.

I've had him for 3 classes already and I'm taking Microbiology with him in the summer because he's not teaching Pathophysiology until winter. The other classes I've taken there hasn't been time to be on my phone or the situation doesn't apply.

Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's cute.

Also, when I'm checking on the games I'm not interacting with my phone at all during class. I set it up before and it automatically updates every 15 seconds. I just glance down every once in a while. It's rare that I even touch my phone because I don't want to exit out of the game to check a text.

AND... My classes aren't only 50 minutes! They're usually 2-3 hours and during the summer one is 3 hours, the other it 4 hours.

ETA: I'm not saying it's a good thing that I'm on the phone... the only professor where the situation applies, doesn't care. I'll ask him on Tuesday.

 

[merryweather20]

so you had a great professor for 3 years. They made 1 mistake (you consider it a mistake or a lack of judgement) in those 3 years; and you would leave negative comments about them? That is so wrong to me, that I truly do not understand what your motivation was.

I didn't say I considered it a mistake or a lack of judgement. In fact I think she was completely self righteous in her behaviour and would react the same way next time.

I said "I would certainly leave a comment like the OP mentioned for this professor." The comments the OP mentioned were these (copy/paste directly from her post):

"professor HATES cell phones" or "Don't even consider taking your cell phone out because she will have a fit."

These are completely accurate What would be wrong about providing accurate information to RMP? Why would I need some special "motivation" to do that?

 

[ksumn1]

Turn the damned cell phone off when you are in class. You are paying good money to listen to whatever the professor has to say. You cannot honestly say that you are giving your undivided attention to someone while texting your thoughts to another.

PS. You aren't so important that a message can't wait. Barring grave illness or death, everything else can wait 50 minutes.

I agree with you to a point. If you have kids in school or an ill parent then I think you're justified in having your phone on vibrate in case of emergency. But not just so you can text, surf the internet et. But my kids ARE important enough that a message can't wait. If the school calls, then it's for a valid reason.

 

[ladycollector]

Eh, I don't think it's a big deal as long as they can't see you. Doing it in plain sight is disrespectful, I agree with that.

But.. I'm paying tons of money to go to school and my education and how much I learn is squarely on me, not my professor. So if playing on my phone affected my grade that would be my fault. Luckily, it doesn't.

Honestly, most of my professors just read off powerpoints that we all have access to. I can read to myself.

 

[LisaR]

If he told me it was disrespectful to him, then I would put it away.

I am sure this is just one of those agree to disagree issues. I do not feel we should need people to tell us when something is disrespectful. I think it should just be something we know. A basic thing either ingrained in us or learned over the years.

I agree with you to a point. If you have kids in school or an ill parent then I think you're justified in having your phone on vibrate in case of emergency. But not just so you can text, surf the internet et. But my kids ARE important enough that a message can't wait. If the school calls, then it's for a valid reason.

I don't disagree but how often do you get interrupted during class for something important from your kids? If you make it through your classes with no interruptions almost the entire time, I don't see an issue with it. If you are taking calls or texts from your kids during every class, there is a problem. I am guessing you rarely get interrupted.

My DD had a teacher last semester that had to repeatedly tell kids in the class not to use their cell phones. They thought nothing of texting in the middle of class. She also told the class from the start that she leaves her cell on vibrate because her mom had cancer and wasn't doing well. In 16 weeks, she excused herself once to take a call and she had to end class early (15 minutes) due to that call. The reviews on RMP bash this professor and they are all about cell phone usage. They note that she got to use her cell phone but they couldn't use theirs. If I was reading those reviews and didn't know any better, I would guess that this professor spent half her time chatting on her phone. My DD loved her, by the way.

Not sure if it makes a difference but this is for a community college. Part of me thinks it is a maturity thing but I don't know that for a fact.

 

[MrsPete]

I'm a high school teacher, not a college professor . . . but I can assure you that I hate cell phones (in class). Also notes, food, and other things that kids tend to consider more important than the lesson. I've prepared a good lesson every day, and when I have to stop and tell students to put away their ipods, food, math homework (because this is English class), bounc-y balls, etc., it irritates me and throws me off my lesson. It also distracts other students, some of whom aren't all that able to handle distractions.

Come to class ready to -- gasp -- take part in class!
It's just good manners.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I am sure this is just one of those agree to disagree issues. I do not feel we should need people to tell us when something is disrespectful. I think it should just be something we know. A basic thing either ingrained in us or learned over the years.

I think we will.

He told me he doesn't care, that's essentially the point I'm getting across. I could have it out in plain view and he wouldn't care. But, I'm not one who disrespects people just because I can... so you saying that I am is really irritating me. He doesn't ever see it, unless of course he has x-ray vision, so I don't think it is disrespectful. If he said, "no cell phones" then I'd oblige and be OK with that.

But, there are a lot of other things that should be "ingrained in us or learned over the years" that everyone doesn't abide by. This happens mainly because people's ideas of what is right and what is wrong are completely different. This brings us back to the agreeing to disagree.

 

[Sparx]

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.

We do these also, but those aren't published to anyone but the department. Our site is this:
Http://www.mtsureview.com
It's pretty similar to the ratemyprofessor site. It asks about what kind of tests, what the format is, if they tell you to buy the book, if you actually need the book, etc.

I tend to take all of these reviews with a grain of salt however. I always think there are those people who are going to complain and be angry no matter what happens, and people are always going to fail classes and blame the professor. I mostly just check the site to see if the book is required before I get my syllabus.