IACS’s recent decision to disable the notifications for the X2 mobile app was due to the “number of electronic distractions that our students deal with throughout the day.” I believe that the notifications from the X2 actually decreases electronic distractions.
I started using the X2 app in my sophomore year at IACS. I have felt that the notifications led to a decrease in my use of X2. I didn’t have to constantly check X2 to see what the status of my grades because I would know whether or not something changed by whether or not I got a notification.
I have heard teachers complain about the notifications for entirely different reasons. One of the main complaints that I have heard has been that right when you put in a grade, someone’s phone buzz. If the teacher were to make a mistake and input the grade of another student or mistyped something and fix it quickly the student would see both grades that were input.
If the teacher didn’t fix a mistake very quickly, the student might send the teacher an email inquiring about the grade. It may not seem like a big deal to get an email every now and then but when you add the multiple classes and many students in each class, if they get one email from a mistake each time they grade on top of all of the emails they get from students who are concerned about the grade because they earned a bad grade, cutting down one email every grading cycle would be beneficial.
I don’t believe that the true reason for disabling X2 notification was to decrease the number of electronic distractions that students have during classes. I believe that the decision was motivated by uncomfortable with students getting real time updates on their grades. I don’t think that it is reasonable for them to want to keep the grades slightly more private.
If IACS is going to give us a reason for why they are disabling the notifications on the X2 app, I just wish they would give us a real reason.
