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Hitting rewind: U of T prof runs tech-free, '90s-style class to boost engagement

· 671 words · By Kristy Strauss
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/hitting-rewind-u-t-prof-runs-tech-free-90s-style-cl…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 4
verified Verified By Reference 1
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“A University of Toronto Mississauga professor ran a tech-free, '90s-style class to boost engagement.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report that a University of Toronto Mississauga professor conducted a tech-free, '90s-style class, involving trading modern tech for analog tools.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississauga
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mississaugas are a group of First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are a sub-group of the Ojibwe Nation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississaugas
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM or U of T Mississauga) is one of the three campuses of the University of Toronto and its second-largest academic division, located in Mississauga, Ontario, C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Toronto_Mississa…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Students traded their laptops for notebooks and pens, swapped high-speed internet for printouts, and gave up all reliance on AI.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm the core elements of the claim: students traded laptops/high-speed internet for notebooks/pens/printouts during the class.
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web search NEUTRAL — Perhaps the most significant shift in education technology has been the rise of personal learning devices. Where once we relied on composition notebooks and textbooks, students today have tablets, lap…
https://profrockpr.substack.com/p/the-evolution-of-classroom…
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web search NEUTRAL — The first Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) were released by Apple Computer Inc. in 1993, and with that, computers were a part of every day, if not every moment. By 2009, 97% of classrooms had one or…
https://education.purdue.edu/news/2024/01/01/the-evolution-o…
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web search NEUTRAL — 3. Skill-Building Over Screens Some educators argue unrestricted tech access has eroded foundational skills. "Students Google answers instead of problem-solving," says high school math coordinator Rac…
https://www.thinkingineducating.com/rethinking-classroom-tec…
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“The class became a more interactive environment where students were highly engaged.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results mention the class was designed to boost engagement, but the evidence provided does not contain multiple independent sources confirming that the class *actually* resulted in increased engagement; the web results are general articles about the event, not direct reports on the outcome.
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web search NEUTRAL — Flipped classrooms also redefine in-class activities. In-class lessons accompanying flipped classroom may include activity learning or more traditional homework problems, among other practices, to eng…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom
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web search NEUTRAL — A student who doesn't understand a concept the class appears to have grasped faces a calculation: ask the question and risk appearing less capable than peers, or stay silent and allow the gap to remai…
https://sidetrain.com/guides/7-reasons-students-learn-faster…
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web search NEUTRAL — Gen Z students are feeling more prepared for and positive about their lives than ever, partly due to a more engaging experience at school.Compared with 2023, every measure of engagement increased by s…
https://news.gallup.com/poll/694238/gen-students-engaged-sch…
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“The professor taught the class as a traditional 1990s-era professor, using printouts and a whiteboard instead of PowerPoint.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm the professor used printouts and a whiteboard, contrasting with modern digital tools like PowerPoint.
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web search NEUTRAL — Ultimately, the choice of whiteboard or PowerPoint depends on the purpose, content, and audience of the teaching session. Some teachers may prefer to use a combination of both methods, depending ...
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-way-teaching-better-whi…
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web search NEUTRAL — PowerPoint or a slide deck is an educational norm teaching tool, especially in medical education, but still many adult learners prefer more interactive methods like "chalk talks" or whiteboard teachin…
https://learn.hms.harvard.edu/insights/all-insights/pitfalls…
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web search NEUTRAL — I actually prefer lecturers who use a whiteboard (or blackboard) over electronic boards or projectors with powerpoint. Generally it's far more effective because there is more opportunity for interacti…
https://www.reddit.com/r/compsci/comments/j5t8s/why_professo…
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“Students filled out a feedback form with a pen on printed paper at the end of the class.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results mention the class was a specific, contained event, but none of the provided search snippets specifically confirm that students filled out a paper-based feedback form at the end of the class.
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web search NEUTRAL — Instructor presence, especially in the form of meaningful feedback on performance, is extremely important both to student satisfaction and achievement of learning outcomes.
https://miamioh.edu/regionals/eccoe/news/2020/03/instructor-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Quora is a place to gain and share knowledge. It's a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers. This empowers people to learn from each other…
https://www.quora.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — My students submit their papers electronically, and I download their papers (all at once) into a single folder. I create a Google form to use as my grading tool. The first question on the form is a te…
https://www.andrewcullison.com/2009/10/grade-student-papers-…
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“The professor plans to make one session of his courses every term a '90s-style class.”
CORROBORATED
Two distinct web search results explicitly state that the professor plans to make one session of his courses every term a '90s-style class for the foreseeable future.'
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The experiment has opened the door to a potential research project examining tech-free sessions for teaching.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the context suggests the experiment could lead to research, the provided evidence only reports on the single instance of the class and does not contain multiple independent sources confirming that a formal, ongoing research project has been established based on this experiment.
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web search NEUTRAL — Here's what research shows about the effectiveness of technology for learning and when less tech can be more productive.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-effectiveness-tech…
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web search NEUTRAL — ABSTRACT Tutoring—defined here as one-on-one or small-group instructional programming by teachers, paraprofessionals, volunteers, or parents—is one of the most versatile and potentially transformative…
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27476/w274…
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web search NEUTRAL — An important aspect of this research is that gamification efforts, game design frameworks, and game-based learning systems have the potential to improve student engagement, topic mastery, and knowledg…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259029112…
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“Another writing studies professor at the university has expressed interest in borrowing the idea for their own class.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results mention the professor's initiative, but none of the provided snippets confirm that *another* writing studies professor has expressed interest in borrowing the idea.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Angie Cruz (born February 24, 1972) is an American novelist and associate professor at Columbia University, where she teaches in the MFA Writing Program and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and R…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Cruz
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — M. Remi Yergeau (formerly Melanie Yergeau, born 1984) is an American academic in the fields of rhetoric and writing studies, digital studies, queer rhetoric, disability studies, and theories of mind. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Remi_Yergeau
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Minnie Bruce Pratt (September 12, 1946 – July 2, 2023) was an American poet, educator, activist, and essayist. She retired in 2015 from her position as Professor of Writing and Women's Studies at Syra…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Bruce_Pratt
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The session included active learning and group work methods used today.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The web search results focus on the '90s style and tech removal. While the evidence mentions the class was designed to boost engagement, it does not contain specific details or multiple sources confirming the incorporation of 'modern active learning and group work techniques' alongside the '90s format.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.