Cell Phone Use during Learning did not affect Students' Test Scores

Small groups of participants took notes while watching a brief (10 minute) TED Talk in a classroom setting. Half of the groups were exposed to two confederates who silently used their cell phones throughout the video presentation. Confederates in the control condition took notes during the video presentation along with the participants. Participants' quiz scores were not affected by the confederates' phone use. Additional measures of involvement and interest were also examined.