Banned Phones in My College Classroom. Students Loved It

>What I would really like is for every university classroom to be treated more like the sensitive compartmented information facilities, or SCIFs, in the White House and other government buildings: Phones are not permitted and are locked in cubbies outside of every room. Students would have to deposit their phones before class and pick them up after class. Ideally, professors could still choose to opt out of this policy, especially if phones or other mobile devices were integral to the educational process and content of the class.

Conference rooms should do this.

Really lots of places... anywhere you actually care about people's engagement / learning.

Alt title: Here’s What Happened When I Made My College Students Put Away Their Phones

Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/opinion/mobile-phones-col...