It is completely quiet in the lecture hall at the University of Bergen. The only sound is sheets of paper being turned, sentences being crossed out. The students are on a course to regain their concentration. It is often lost until the mobile phone is given the opportunity to connect to the rest of the world. – The brain is so used to being overstimulated. Actually, we should have had it so that we had to close the phone, says student in social anthropology, Siri Hammer Gjeving. For two hours she and her brain have screen-free while she tries to dive deep into the curriculum. Deep reading The course at UiB is based on the model of a deep reading project that the University of Oslo carried out about a year ago. It has spread to several universities and colleges. Bjørn Enge Bertelsen is professor of social anthropology at the University of Bergen. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news The students must practice putting down the screens in order to concentrate only on a text. This is needed, believes Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, who is behind the course in Bergen. – The students often say that it is difficult for them to immerse themselves in subject tests. And I can feel that in myself, says the professor. – We have to help each other to find that concentration. Bertelsen refers to research which says that it is easier to concentrate when you read texts on paper, without a screen nearby. Unrest in the government – It is clear that we have an uneasiness that screen use and within higher education has taken focus in recent years. That’s according to Sandra Borch, Minister for Research and Higher Education (Sp). – Sitting down to read the subject syllabus in peace is important in order to benefit from the education. Sandra Borch is concerned that the mobile phone takes too much focus away from studies. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news Borch therefore believes that various courses and projects on mobile-free deep reading may be absolutely necessary. But could it be that it is the texts and the teaching program that simply do not keep up with the times? – The institutions are responsible for the academic matters. And to make it relevant and educational, says Sandra Borch. And some places have started to move away from the classic subject texts. At the Faculty of Law at UiO, students receive parts of the syllabus in a format that they are well used to. Namely as short videos on YouTube. PhD research fellow Knut Sande has made video clips for the law students. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news Teaching on YouTube – I made them because I missed exactly this type of video when I was a student myself, says scholar Knut Sande. – I found it both tiring, boring and heavy at times, especially reading the textbook. He doesn’t think it’s worth making short video clips about complex topics too easily. – On the contrary, I give the students an opportunity to immerse themselves in difficult issues. Professor Bertelsen at UiB admits that the subject texts can be experienced as keisame. – But it is innovative thinking to have a course like this to help the students. In Bergen, student Siri Hammer Gjevik takes out her mobile phone after two hours of a deep reading course. She admits it has been difficult to leave it in the bag. – It takes a lot of time from you. It’s so easy to pick it up to check something. It ruins so much. And after a quick check, Gjevik concludes that not much has happened after two hours of a mobile-free deep reading course. Gjevik missed little on the mobile in two hours. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news
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The worry that mobile phones are ruining students – news Vestland
