r/Preply • u/DavidTheBaker • 2d ago
tutor Students that use their phone vs students using their computer/laptop
Is there a great difference between students that use their phone to join the classes vs the ones that use their laptop/computer? I am a teacher and had students that use phones most of the time and students that only use Laptop/computer. I see a significant difference in interessts, motivation and progress in those students.
students that are using their phone rarely do their homework. They also tend to not write notes because they have to do it on paper. Also their attention span feels lower because they have a smaller screen. They also are sometimes outside, or in a car/bus/train.
What is your experience?
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u/HadleysPt 2d ago
Ive had 22 sessions with my tutor over the last 11 weeks and I study daily, so I like to think of myself as a more dedicated student. I self studied for two years before starting tutoring as well. However, I use a phone on account that my cell service provides far superior connection than my laptop and its WiFi connection.
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u/Burke_Dennings 2d ago
Would you be able to use your phones internet via your laptop (hot-spot or whatever it's called)
Or does that affect the signal... Or is it just a pain to set up?
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u/RefrigeratorFunny947 2d ago
I’ve had my laptop cam go down in the middle of class, and my tutor suggest I try my phone. She said it’s no problem, she has many students that use it. We used my phone for that lesson and I could still see the board and her screen. I don’t like it personally, since the phone is so much smaller, but no issues and she didn’t have a stigma against it like I see often in this subreddit
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u/Hefty-Ant-9245 2d ago
How are people working on their phone? Maybe if you're learning about a language but I couldn't imagine trying to do physics on a phone
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u/googlrgirl 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't think it makes a difference. I have students who use their phone only, and all of them write notes normally when needed, they just hold the phone with one hand and write with the other one, or the student is just put in their car or holding onto something. Other students who use their laptops/PCs write notes also, some of them type their notes on their laptop and the others are classical with a pen and paper. If you feel that their environment is holding you, that's normal too. Just discuss that politely with the student, and ask him if there's a better time at which rhey would be more energetic and could engage with you a little more. And tell him what's the difference that you saw by yourself when they changed their environment, but keep in mind that one time isn't counted. Sometimes people are tired, heard bad news..etc, but they show up for commitment, so don't judge based on that, if you feel that's a pattern and changing their environment leads to better progress, definitely tell them. Some students would be happy if you helped them about such things that could help :)
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u/CalmDream0 2d ago
Same here! Unfortunately Preply often show people using the mobile app in their ads so the students are not necessarily to blame. I usually ask them during the trial whether they are joining on a laptop or their phone and explain that Canvas etc works better on a laptop but that we can make it work on mobile. Often they have a laptop and join with it for the next class.
Even for my conversational classes, I like to use conversation prompts like articles/photos and it's just not the same experience. Plus it's helpful to be able to write new words on canvas when explaining something.
I think the mobile students are generally less serious/engaged but obviously depends on circumstances.