Yes, I get it. BlackBerrys are a fabulous technological breakthrough (they’re even designed and manufactured in Canada) and have changed the way we communicate with each other. Heck, even the President of the United States had to persuade his security staff to let him keep using his. But what about BlackBerrys in the classroom? What is an instructor to do?
Don’t we have enough problems trying to keep our learners engaged, stimulated, motivated, interacting, and paying attention without having to worry about them masterberrying?? The definition of masterberrying from Urban Dictionary is, “The act of viewing and sending messages on a BlackBerry while holding it underneath a table to hide the act.” And by the way, when did it become socially acceptable to pull out a BlackBerry and start playing with it when someone is TALKING to you? I don’t get it, but I digress.
Back to the classroom; we can all set ground rules at the beginning of class asking our learners not to use them. We can ask learners to leave them in a box, called “Daycare,” at the back of the room. You get it, right; you can visit it or check in at break or lunchtime. We can even use humor to dissuade the use of them in class. But my favorite success story, happened very recently, when I had a student in class fix the problem for me.
I was teaching a 2-day class and a participant, let’s call her Blanche, was constantly on her BlackBerry. She happened to be sitting in the back of the room so I didn’t think it was much of a distraction for the others. Side note: As instructors, we don’t have to deal with EVERY digression. If the only thing that’s being hurt is our ego, we can let it go. However, if it’s disruptive to other participants in the room, then we must step in and deal with the issue.
Just before lunch, I did a table change, and Blanche happened to be at the front of the room. Not on purpose, mind you, just the luck of the cards. For the rest of the afternoon, I could see Blanche on her BlackBerry and so could everyone else in the room. I’m thinking I have a problem on my hands.
At one of the breaks, I go over to another woman at Blanche’s table, let’s call her Faith, and I ask her if Blanche’s BlackBerry use is bothersome. Her reply, “Heck, ya!” (She actually used another word for “Heck” but I’m trying to keep this G-rated.) So I said, “OK, thanks for sharing. I’ll take care of it.” Before I knew it, the day was over and I hadn’t yet had an opportunity to approach Blanche. My plan was to approach her first thing, the next morning, and put this issue to rest.
So here is where the story gets interesting. As everyone is leaving the classroom, Faith comes over to me, privately, and says, “You don’t have to talk to Blanche.” And I said, “Pardon me?” And she said again, “You don’t have to talk to Blanche.” And I said, “Why not?” Her reply, “I talked to her for you.” “But what did you say?” I ask in astonishment. I told her, “You’re being really rude. Put that BlackBerry away.” (Now keep in mind, I wouldn’t have used that exact lingo had I approached Blanche on my own.) Nevertheless, I thanked Faith profusely and told her how much I appreciated her efforts.
On Day 2, Blanche’s behavior was much better and the BlackBerry use was definitely curtailed. Faith had fixed the problem for me. By the way, my least favorite thing about being an instructor is having to confront participants about their behavior in class. And I used to be a litigator before I got into training…does that make any sense?
For me, this story just reinforces what I’ve always known to be true. If people like you, they won’t give you any problems. And now I can go one better – they will even fix problems for you. And I’ll take that any day of the week.
So to all of my trainer brothers and sisters out there – take the time to build solid relationships with your learners. And always remember, keep the Faith and may she always do the Blanching for you!
Marsha
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This is a growing problem. I found that the earlier it is addressed the better. Its not fun to do though. Hi Marsha!!
Dave, you’re absolutely right, the earlier the better. And wouldn’t it be great if we could have some fun with it, though? My colleague mentioned she imagines taking the device and dumping it in the water jug on the table…this relaxes her! I, on the other hand, imagine taking it and smashing it against the wall. Different styles, no?
Wow, I’m glad I tempered my wit in that awesome class you instructed.
Hi Marsha. You probably don’t remember me, but I remember you. Anyhow great advise, not just on addressing the Blackberry use, but virtually any other issue that people or technology might throw our way!
Masterberrying made me chuckle. I actually had this same problem today! I may institude a “Daycare” box from now on. But what if the culprit doesn’t take well to a comment from someone he/she doesn’t know and it makes the problem worse?
You used the word “heck” to keep this G-rated, but had no problem using (and defining) the term masterberrying?
Marsha,
That is hilarious! I’d not heard the term “masterberrying” before, but it is very apropos! I also like the suggestion of the “daycare” box – it’s a way to address their tendencies in a humorous way, because even the strong can be tempted by the incoming buzz of the “crackberry”…
Hi Chaketta,
I’d like to thank you for your concerned response and I want to personally assure you that we review all of our material carefully. In this specific case, we felt that the term in question, as defined by the Urban Dictionary (not Langevin) and in the context that it was employed in this blog post, provided a realistic (and humorous) description of the situation. The focus of this blog post was to bring light to the ever growing issue of mobile device usage during training and to provide practical solutions. I sincerely hope that you have found the tips and suggestions useful.
Denis Gratton
Director, Product Development
While I agree that all electric devices should be set to silent in training (so they don’t ring or even vibrate) I have a much higher tolerance for it being used than most it seems.
I think we’re about to see a workforce that is more “multi-tasking-abled” than any generation before it. Also, as a 7 year BlackBerry user, I know that I am fully capable of typing while listening. I think the device has been given an unfair shake from non-berry users. They assume that anyone who types on a BB while in class is chatting with a friend. This often isn’t the case. What if they’re typing notes instead of writing them? Would it be any more or less distracting if someone were to sit at a laptop and type applicable notes/dictation during training?
Sure, a ringing sound, or buzzing sound etc, is distracting, but someone typing on it, I don’t think should be anymore distracting than anyone using a pen to take notes. I think as adults they should be given the benefit of the doubt. If you’re sitting next to someone who is drawing stick figures going to war on a scrap of paper instead of notes, does their pen scribbling become any more intolerable?
Of course, there are extremes to either side. If the BB user clearly isn’t able to divde their attention and is asking questions clearly for missing material covered as a result of multi-tasking, then perhaps it would be time to intervene and speak to that individual.
While it may sometimes be difficult to address classroom situations promptly in fear of alienating a few, the net result is that you build credibility among many!
Neil,
I don’t think the recipients of the blackberry emails is the point. Friend or colleague, the sound and distraction of blackberry use is a problem, regardless. At best, as the author points out, it’s a blow to the facilitator’s ego. But at worst it detracts from the message and sends a subliminal message to others that the BB user is simply too important/busy to receive the message. If someone is there to learn, they owe it to themselves and fellow attendees to focus on the task at hand.
If, however, it is a note-taking device, volunteer that info to the class. (But facilitators know the difference, anyway. The focus of your attention and the volume of typing relative to the content being presented is a dead giveaway).
Hi Marsha:
The very first time I actually saw a Blackberry was in your class in New York City! We had 4 girls from one office in the training and they all had new Blackberrys. I had to ask someone what they were and had a hard time understanding the concept of their being able to send e-mails with it! whaaat? What was SO annoying was that they were sending e-mails to one another!! Are you kidding me? I believe they got very little out of the 3-day course.
Unless there is some kind of urgent matter happening at the time of training, there is no need to be viewing it during class time!
Good blog, Marsha. And nice to see that you’re on here. I loved your classes. I was lucky enough to have you for an instructor in Toronto also!
Pam from Alberta
Hi,
This story was spot on. I deal with training Investment Bankers who never want to be in training. We can not ignore the reality of mobile devices as part of daily life, even as trainer I have been tempted to look at my own buzzing iPhone while training but surely not paying attention during the training is a common issue that existed way before mobile devices.
I found that by acknowleding the reality of blackberries in my introduction usually helps, I say “I understand the reality of having to check your Blackberries but you are here to learn, unless it is an emergency please be respectiful of me and your classmates and if it is an emergency, feel free please leave the room.” This usually sets the tone and people are much more respectful.
Interesting note is that even in meetings high level managers often continually check their blackberries, that is just as rude, but of course who is going to tell them. LOL.
thanks for the article!
I try to incorporate BB’s as a training instrument. I have a BB also so I have learners text me answers to in-class quizzes as a game, take pictures of work or situations and send them to me and also I send them instructions or other important info – job aids, product info etc via email. Embrace BB’s and use them to your advantage!
I think part of the challenge in this is helping them understand how to use these technologies for ‘work’ purposes, AND how to keep a balance in their lives while engaging in Twitter, Facebook, etc.
This is as much about adults in the workplace as it is with students, but if we can inform students about these addictions, then we can help this generation not die from information overload.