Faculty Perceptions and Policies of Students’ Use of Personal Technology in the Classroom

With the increased use of personal technology in the classroom, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, effective teaching may have some powerful distractions, or some excellent support. The purpose of this paper is to report on the progress of personal technology in the classroom and to determine how members of the Association of Business Information Systems (ABIS) and the Southwest Decision Sciences Institute (SWDSI) are clarifying the use of personal technology through syllabus statements and policies. The study does not intentionally set out to provide definitive answers related to the best way to handle personal technology in the classroom; but rather, to share some current perceptions and policies that have been adopted by educators. This, in turn, may provide a springboard for specific policies that would work in an educator’s classroom