College students often texting, checking e-mail in class: Higher Education roundup

By Karen Farkas. Doodling and passing notes in class have been replaced by texting, sending e-mails and checking Facebook.
More than 90 percent of college students admitted they use digital devices for non-class activities during class, according to a recent survey, reported in Inside Higher Ed.
Less than 8 percent said that they never do so. The study is based on a survey of 777 students at six colleges and universities. Barney McCoy, associate professor of broadcasting at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, conducted the study, published in the October issue of the The Journal of Media Education.
Most of the students were undergraduates, and graduate students were less likely to use their devices for non-class purposes. Undergraduates reported using their devices for non-class purposes 11 times a day, on average, compared to four times a day for graduate students. More...