This class started the same way a couple of my high school classes had started. It was phone jail time. We were asked to place all of our phones up at the front and nobody questioned it, we all just did it. Luckily everyone in this cohort trusted each other as you have to see them 5x per week almost every week. Personally, my first feeling was anxiety. My phone is my main way of communication and also a fidget as the back of it has a popsocket. It’s just one of those things that you get so used to having on you that it feels wrong when you don’t, almost like a wedding band, haha.
There were some interesting points made during this. The sudden shift in power was one. Suddenly the room felt less like a discussion amongst equals and more like big teacher and small students. Personally, I love when classrooms feel equal, and most university level classes do. I think this is partly why this was such a shift and surprise when it was the first thing we were told upon starting class. Part of this exercise just taught me that I will never do a phone jail. The other part was teaching better solutions and methods instead of phone jail. Some would include placing them face down on the student’s desk so it is visible, keeping them in the student’s bag, and probably my favourite: having a designated amount of time prior to class beginning for students to check their phones, then they get put away, whether that be in a bag or on the desk.