Like many educators, Professor Lorenz was tired of his students scrolling（滚屏）through their phones during class. The students were physically1but mentally many were miles away — and their class2and grades reflected that.
So two years ago, Lorenz used his own money to3his students to download a new 4called Flipd, which monitors the amount of time users spend on their phones. If students used their phones during his classes, Lorenz could see and5it, and it affected their final grades.
Flipd was6designed as a parental control app. From one phone, a parent could7lock a child's phone. Not surprisingly, that got bad reviews from kids. But then a8 use for the technology appeared. The app could be used to9goals for how much time a user wanted to spend off the phone, and then track the person's minutes away from the10.
Unlike other11to smartphone overuse that lock away phones or blame users for time spent online, Flipd12them for minutes spent offline. Success or failure notifications（通知）let them know if they have met their13. Using Flipd, professors can14 students' grades to how well they succeed in staying off their phones during classes. In Lorenz's class, 5 percent of their final grade is cut if they don't15the app.
Although Lorenz met with some16at first, "It turned out to be more17than I thought," he said. "Students were excited to use it, especially when I explained to them why we were doing it, that using phones in class means they're wasting their time and money, and they get lost during lecture time. "
Not all students love it. A small percent18to use Flipd, saying it's an attack on privacy or it19too much space on their phone. But many20him for it.
