Case 1: Observing the classroom when a professor teaching a course [ 1.5 hours]
This ethnographic topic is observation of students during a period of class. It's the new semester and new course. The day of 09/01/2012, The class is going to start on 5' o clock exactly. Some of student come earlier. I mean before 5'o clock. But most of student came after 5' o clock. Approximate 5 to 5:20 whoever want to join the class, they came. Class was full. In my viewpoint everybody is here. A few minutes ( 10-15 ) everybody is listening the lecture putting the whole mind into the lecture. It was a good starting. Some of them are taking notes. Everybody eye are on the slides. A person be beside me is searching the terms and some important points which are said by professor through his mobile wi-fi network. Everybody concentrated on the lecture. After 15 minutes, approximate 70 % students are not actually attending the class. I think they are bored. One thing it seemed to appear that the frequency of professor speaking and students listening is not matching . Some of them are in another world of mind. Some of them are playing with their mobiles. 3 or 4 person are taking relax and one person is sleeping. One of them is siting front of the row and doing something on mobile. Some of them are talking in between the class. Few of person( 1 or 2 ) are watching other person and laughing on professor that most of the class is not paying the attention. I have observed this in most of the lecture when I see this. One or two persons do this in all boring lecture. They enjoy watching other that they are not studying. It happens when most of the student in the class in not paying the attention. About slides, there are some topics which comes between the lecture make attention of students. Especially topics are funny, story, sex etc. A picture of half naked tribal makes laugh to some of the person, especially those are not attentive during the lecture. Only two person which are not student category are paying most of the attention toward lecture. Now only 15 minutes left for the class ending. Now everybody concentration is again on the lecture. Approximate 70-80 % are listening the lecture. But this time only listening, no writing. Personal observations: Study in classroom by this method seem to be not suitable. There may be some different methods. Beginning of every course, the attendance is always full but as time goes on attendance decreases. It is impossible that everybody in this class will concentrate on the lecture. It is impossible that professor teaching method satisfy everybody. Interview by some of my classmates on this topics:Q. How many times do you give your concentration in the classroom? A. Depends on the subjects and the professors. If I like the subject and professor teaching style ,I will give 45 minutes/hour. If I don't like I will concentrate only 15 minutes/hour. Q. What will you do if you didn't concentrated in the classroom? A. generally day dreaming or playing with mobile. Sometimes drawing. Sometimes talking to friend. I can't remember other thing. Q. When do you mostly concentrated in the class? A. Initially 10-15 minutes for searching for good topics. And last 15 minutes because it is going to end soon. {with smile)
Case 2: Mess ( Food ) Hall [ Time Dinner] [ observation only few groups ] The period of dinner is from 8:00 to 9:30 PM. Maximum students come between 8:30 to 9:00 PM. When a person comes make a queue and waited for queue to move. Generally most of person come into groups. Groups are minimum of 2 and maximum of 4-5. After taking the food, they search for a vacant place such that they can sit together or search for known group where they can sit together. They talk on different topics other than study. There are some jokes. I think At the dinner time we interact most time with our friends. One of most case is Girl generally sit together with girl and boy sits together with boy. The mixing of girl and boy is rare in the mess. Most of the person choose their sit such that they face the Television. But some of the boys person choose their sit such that they face some girl group. In this mess It is very rare that they talk about study related topics. When a person comes few minute before 9:30 , he will be more hurry to grab the food, it's the ending time. Interview about the interaction in mess: Q. What is the best time you interact with the your friends? A. We generally give most of the time in study at room or surfing on Internet. In classroom it is impossible to interact due to study. So, In taking food. We enjoy most of the time. We talk on different topics. This topics include today news, politics, about some other friends, etc. Generally this time we get more knowledge about another persons. I have learned so many terms of Telugu Language by interacting with each other. We enjoy talking in our language and ask the meaning. Q. Approximately how many people interact mostly? A. 2-3 persons Q and how many different people other than these 2-3 peoples at lunch time? A. 7-8 persons, Generally we sit together. So, ask about each other Q. Why do you sit always with boys? Why don't you sit with girls? A. I don't know. May be, because I talk less or may be I am shy. Q. Is there any way you interact with your friends other than food place? A. Mostly on playing place. Q. What do you do in the room? Is it possible that you have interaction in the room? A. Especially when we have exams and some assignment to complete. Other time we watch movie and surf the net.
things- Like -did you do the assignment, What project did you taken etc. Between the game if there is pause they listen music, do some works, do Facebook, chat etc. When they finish the game. They talk about every strategy. They are happy. They talk each other. When they have to take something for eat. They go together. The group making make their social activity. Game related taking increase the team working. One of the best thing I observe that I started much more talking with them everyday after this. I am more social and talk these 2nd -3rd year student when we meet. The outside the gaming area, the social interaction increases. (My most of the friends from 2 nd and 3rd year are due to this gaming. The non verbal hints increases between them. They talk with their eye and make some strategy which are not verbal. The group gaming includes jokes, praise, helping and so many things which increase the social interaction between people. In my terms- Is it really a good events for social interaction. There is plenty of interaction is going between them. The real question is can a player use their interaction successfully. What will be the other effects. Talking with person about the study effects due to gaming: Q. Is it gaming is addiction for you? A. Not much but a little bit. But when we started playing game. It is impossible to leave the game. Always one more, one more, Just play last one. And we play whole night. Q. What about the effect on the study? A. Due to overnight we wake up in afternoon and lost most of classes. Q. What about the home works? A. It is truth that we complete our home work on last days. But If we are playing the game on last day so due to some tension we left game and sit together and do the assignment and again play. But some time if assignment is complex the we leave the assignment but some sometimes we do a little work of assignment. Q. How many times you have done complete assignment problem? A. I can't remember. May be None. Q. Why don't you delete the game from you computer and leave playing if you get so many problem? A. I tried so many times. Approx 20-30 I deleted this game and installed again. It is somewhat impossible to stop playing. Q. Last question what do you feel when you are playing? A. We attached with game and feel exactly same as real life. The virtual world completely becomes the real worlds. Points: One of most effect on the study. They play a long time in night such that they don't attend the class in the morning. The interaction in class decreases slowly. They don't care on small value assignment. They just leave this. The interaction is missing due to leaving the assignment. They are being addicted toward this. Finally it is blending the two world- one is social interaction and one is academic interaction.
Case 4: GYM:
IIT GYM is used by most of students and some professor. This observation is taken on Wednesday. They are three type of category of person come to GYM. One category generally consists fat guys or whom has stomach. One category who are normal guys. And last one thin guy. Observation on fat guys:- They give time on GYM only 45-60 minutes. First, they contact to GYM instructor and talk about what will they do today. Because they are generally first time GYM user (only in this college). They take instruction and do on sequential way. They use trade-mill, cycling, sit-up those exercise which are necessary to loose the weight. In period of doing the exercise they watch in mirror and try to suggest themselves that they have less fat as they do the GYM. They generally concentrated on those part of body that are more fat. Observation on Stomach Guy: They also take instruction from GYM instructor daily and try to do most of the GYM to remove the stomach fat. They have same situation and they always concentrated upon removing the stomach fat. They always see their stomach and touch the stomach to see how it look. They have same feeling that their stomach fat are removing. Most of time the use Oval path cycling. Observation on thin guy: They do those of the GYM that will increase the fat. They generally don't take the GYM work which is done by those fat guys. Their concentration on only increasing the fat. They watch those normal muscle guys and compare their body that how will increase their fat. Observation on healthy and muscle guys: They came on different time. They don't have a fixed time to visit GYM. They come and do whatever they want. In period of doing this they watch their soldier muscle and their stomach pack. They feel more confident. They instruct other guys how to do the particular exercise. How to use particular machine. They have also competition to each other. They see other body builder person in GYM and they feel little sad. Observation on GYM instructor: He come on time each day and also go on time. He doesn't feel more interested in increasing muscle size. He has a good level of muscle. His most of time goes on instructing those body builders. He watches everybody that they are doing exercise in a right way or not. He instructs those who doesn't do wight way. Personal observations about other things: Everybody watch the mirror many times. Mirror mirror and mirror in the GYM is one of the fact to available. Mirror is one of the method seemed to look another person. I mean awareness about another person is done by these mirror. Where are you looking, no one is going to catch. As I indicated healthy and experience guy, the experience member doesn't care much about the mirror. They use mirror to check only the body muscle form and position. The fat guy who is running on trade-mill will become more faster and stand more time on trade-mill if someone is running the beside of him on another trade mill. I see a situation of very fast running by a fat guy when a girl is in side of him.
turn her diary to remember what will be next? But after few pages turning she remember that she put the diary in wrong direction (letter seemed to be in opposite). In period of lecture she make a large and forceful sounds during speaking some important terms like White man, European etc. and the both fingers rise side of ear and make a figure like two birds are moving head. She tried to be more connected to each student. Her face stops there when someone waving his head in YES. When a particular context ended, she asked to class is it ok . In this period of lecture she always put the hair at right position when it disturb by air or movement. Sometimes she was showing that she is feeling cold. Personal observations: The first aspect shows that how a lady generally try to be look better. I think our society approximately everybody want to be more beautiful and smart. The second aspect is a professor also wanted to be more interactive to a student and he always wanted to make them understand. The professor knew that they are some people who actually wanted to learn the topic. Also professor knew that may be there are few people understanding the topic. So In this case she wanted to make students understandable and try to concentrate student on the topics.