Other categories of behavior that I noticed during my observations included the use of technology other than the computer. Students often used cell phones and music playing devices (iPod’s and mp3 players) while in the lab. They also wore headphones when listening to music or watching videos on the computers.
Despite the fact that the lab guidelines specifically state that cell phone use is prohibited, many students make or receive calls while in the computer lab. A small percentage of students will actually leave the lab when their cell phone rings and take the call in the hallway. It is unclear whether this behavior is done out of courtesy to the other lab users or because the student does not want others to overhear his or her conversation. When students do talk on the phones in the lab, they tend to keep their conversations fairly short (on average, three to five minutes). Often, after a brief dialogue, the students will say, “I have to go. I’m in the computer lab.” This suggests that while students are willing to break the rules and use their phones in the lab, they do not want to engage in lengthy or in-depth conversations. Maybe they are uncomfortable talking with so many other people around, or maybe they came to the lab to get school work done and do not want to be distracted. Even though cell phone use was common in all three labs in which I observed, no one was ever reprimanded for this misbehavior. On several occasions, it was clear that the lab consultant could hear the conversation, but no action was taken to stop the behavior. This lack of punishment could result from the fact that lab consultants are fellow students, who may be less likely to react negatively to other students’ actions.
A behavior I was not planning on examining, but that came up a lot during my observations was the use of headphones by students. The headphones were either attached to an iPod or mp3 device or the computer monitor. When they were attached to the computer, the student was generally watching videos on YouTube or Facebook. Professors occasionally ask students to watch clips on YouTube or news sites, so it was unclear when this behavior was school-related and when it was for personal reasons. Headphone use seemed to be popular in computer lab 1, where there were consistently fewer students. This behavior may result from the fact that there were not many other people in the lab with which students could interact, and therefore, they turned to a different form of interaction.
I found it interesting that when students came into the lab to use the university’s technology (computers, scanners, printers, etc.), they often brought along their own technological devices (cell phones, PDA’s, music players, etc.). It seems that students are very reliant upon technology, to the point where they have several types of gadgets with them at all times.
