Just for fun: iPhone users couldn't help me

[PaulQ]

I am a college teacher and suffer from the inevitable interruption of text message beeps during my class. Someone always forgets to turn their phone on silent. I tell my students with Androids and Blackberrys to pick up one of the several very effective apps that will do it on a schedule. I didn't know of anything on the iPhone so I searched on my own.

There is one app called "Auto Silent" that says it can do the trick but the reviews are mixed. Apparently, Apple doesn't want its people accessing the ringer settings for some reason. This is the ONLY app I found.

I decided to post my question on an iPhone forum. All I got were unworkable suggestions to either tell students to leave their iPhones on a table by the door or just constantly remind them. There was no automated solution.

Maybe its a testament that our 18yo's can't dependably turn their phones on silent but it also reminded me that Apple can be a pain in the...

Looking forward to the beeps, musical ringers and interesting alerts of the Fall semester!



...sent from Infinity

 

[funkylogik]

well the s3 seems to be becoming a phenomenon close to the iphone in the US mate so maybe next semester you could make a poster for the wall with instructions on how to make an android go silent during preset hours of preset days

 

[Tkbredx]

Once the iPhone gets NFC you will have to put up an NFC tag on the wall so whether on android or ios when they enter it can turn their phone on silent and take roll

 

[funkylogik]

Once the iPhone gets NFC you will have to put up an NFC tag on the wall so whether on android or ios when they enter it can turn their phone on silent and take roll

wow now that is actual genius mate

 

[GMJeff]

But iPhone's have a physical switch on the phone to silence it. No need for an application.

It is just forgetfulness or laziness to not silence the devices before a class.

Ruler, meet knuckles.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[CaneToad]

But iPhone's have a physical switch on the phone to silence it. No need for an application.

It is just forgetfulness or laziness to not silence the devices before a class.

Ruler, meet knuckles.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

Hear Hear

 

[badelhas]

But iPhone's have a physical switch on the phone to silence it. No need for an application.

It is just forgetfulness or laziness to not silence the devices before a class.

Ruler, meet knuckles.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

I agree. Having an automated App is good but I think kids are just lazy. If it was me I would ban phones in the class rooms.

 

[Prozak]

I agree. Having an automated App is good but I think kids are just lazy. If it was me I would ban phones in the class rooms.

Make having a phone in class criminal, and only criminals will have phones is class.... Or something.

I would flat out refuse to give up my phone, for no other reason than safety. I would also take responsibility for forgetting to turn it off to.

I like the NFC idea, but wouldn't count on it for roll, not everyone has NFC. but a silence NFC tag is pretty smart

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[MBSMD]

I am a college teacher and suffer from the inevitable interruption of text message beeps during my class. Someone always forgets to turn their phone on silent. I tell my students with Androids and Blackberrys to pick up one of the several very effective apps that will do it on a schedule. I didn't know of anything on the iPhone so I searched on my own.

There is one app called "Auto Silent" that says it can do the trick but the reviews are mixed. Apparently, Apple doesn't want its people accessing the ringer settings for some reason. This is the ONLY app I found.

I decided to post my question on an iPhone forum. All I got were unworkable suggestions to either tell students to leave their iPhones on a table by the door or just constantly remind them. There was no automated solution.

Maybe its a testament that our 18yo's can't dependably turn their phones on silent but it also reminded me that Apple can be a pain in the...

Looking forward to the beeps, musical ringers and interesting alerts of the Fall semester!



...sent from Infinity

Nope, can't be done on an iPhone without a jailbreak (root). Apple's official APIs do not have access to system settings, so there's no way to silence the phone on a set schedule via software. Maybe iOS 6, but for sure it's not available in the current version unless the owner is jailbroken.

 

[steveh552]

Our instructors had a rule, phone makes noise, you leave for the day and get no credit for the class for that day. After it happend to the first person, nobody forgot again.

 

[anon(692098)]

I am a college teacher and suffer from the inevitable interruption of text message beeps during my class. Someone always forgets to turn their phone on silent. I tell my students with Androids and Blackberrys to pick up one of the several very effective apps that will do it on a schedule. I didn't know of anything on the iPhone so I searched on my own.

There is one app called "Auto Silent" that says it can do the trick but the reviews are mixed. Apparently, Apple doesn't want its people accessing the ringer settings for some reason. This is the ONLY app I found.

I decided to post my question on an iPhone forum. All I got were unworkable suggestions to either tell students to leave their iPhones on a table by the door or just constantly remind them. There was no automated solution.

Maybe its a testament that our 18yo's can't dependably turn their phones on silent but it also reminded me that Apple can be a pain in the...

Looking forward to the beeps, musical ringers and interesting alerts of the Fall semester!



...sent from Infinity

Your looking for a technical solution to a personal problem. The iPhone is fully capable of being entirely silent (aside from alarms) by using the mechanical switch on the side of the phone. Assuming you teach high school, and again assuming that your school has a policy that allows you, do the following, its pretty simple. Tell the students the first day that they have the first week of school to remember to silence their phones, at the end of the first week any phone that makes a noise in your class is confiscated for as long as school policy allows. If you happen to be teaching at a college it's even easier, phone makes a noise you fail the class.

I deal with situations like this all the time working in IT. Sometimes the easiest solution is not technological.

 

[Tkbredx]

To ban phones in class is kind of dumb. Phones are a part of our lives and in many ways help us. Now as far as android goes the educational apps aren't all that but on my iOS there are apps that will brilliantly help you organize your school work and classes. It can definitely be productive not just for games and texting.

As for the roll taking thing I just thought it would put l be pretty cool. One of the local colleges here uses a school id card system for taking roll, books at the library, cafeteria, and snack machines. Thought it would be cooler and more convenient for NFC.

 

[funkylogik]

its probably in the near future mate

 

[Prozak]

I feel like everyone is missing the obvious solution.

1. Bring hammer to class.
2. Wait for someone to forget to silence phone.
3. Become YouTube famous.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[funkylogik]

excelent

 

[txtraining]

Open Source > Proprietary

 

[PaulQ]

LOL! I just imagined myself with the hammer...

I teach college and American Sign Language where we don't talk... at all. The room is very quiet. The students are "adults" with all the rights and privileges.

The switch on the side of an iPhone puts it in vibrate mode, not silent. I tested it out and luckily, the iPhone vibration is actually pretty mild. There are plenty of phones that have vibrations that are as loud as rings! Just as annoying.

Unfortunately, the university would not back me failing a student over a phone going off.

As for kicking the student out of class, it is an option. Unfortunately, this in turn punishes me later when the student returns the next day having missed some important linguistic material crippling them and slowing down everyone else That may be hard to imagine but when a student misses a day of class for being sick (or hungover), just means we have some dead weight to catch up. My classes normally have extremely high attendance rates for this reason.

I'm down to considering point deductions after the first offense. It happens to good students too - they just forget.

Attached is what I am distributing to all classes this semester. First time I'm doing this so we'll see how it works.

Thanks for your comments!!

 

[PaulQ]

I forgot to mention... I actually considered getting one of those illegal cell phone jamming devices and planting it in my classrooms. I know, I know... emergencies, blah blah. But it crossed my mind.

NFC tags would be awesome too!

 

[subastion]

Put one of these in your classroom?
the jammer

 

[funkylogik]

how do flight crews on an airplane know if we have our phones on flight mode or not? (havent been on a plane in years lol)