4 thoughts on “Laptops in the Classroom, Part 2”

  1. I’m still wary of your posting at Pajamas media (you mean to tell us you’re the author, yes?), so I’ll give you my comment here.
    I’m in the fascinating position of being able to sit in the back of the room and actually see their screens this year. I’m coteaching a class, so on my non-teaching days, I sit in the back row and follow the lecture. But I also follow what the students are doing. And yes, they post on Facebook, check their email, keep an eye on their google calendars, and use the university’s portal for events/messaging/registration, etc.
    They do also take notes. They’re not just using the computer to entertain themselves during the lecture. And I can totally understand that they can type faster than they could write.
    What I’m most surprised about is that they do this knowing full well that I can see many of their screens. But they don’t care. They think this is par for the course. And since I agree with that “it’s their funeral”, I don’t really care what they do either. If they want to get a B, or C, or fail, that’s their problem.
    And even better–I can say to them that I know what they’ve been doing on their computers during class time, so they don’t really have a right to complain about it to me.

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  2. The problem with my “your funeral” policy is that if there’s a large number of students who aren’t paying attention and haven’t done the reading, there’s no way that I can get class conversation going. None.
    I am also getting sick of the pressure to entertain the kids. When I was a student [said in a cranky old man voice], the professors showed up and told us stuff. We were expected to write it down, because the professors were smart and all.
    I’m not a bad entertainer. The students say I put on a good show, but sometimes I think that this entertaining business shouldn’t be part of the job description.

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  3. I use almost no technology in the classroom–chalk is about as complicated as I ever get–and while I have never issued a formal “no laptop” ban, my interactions with the students are frequently aimed and pulling them away from their laptops, handheld, cell phones, and everything else. I know some would greatly prefer to take notes on laptops, and some of those who say that actually do so…but I think the overall atmosphere of distraction they potentially as to is too much.

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  4. FWIW, I’m in the corporate world and I have on occasion had to stop meetings and ask people to shut off devices, close laptops, etc. It’s for the same reason Laura gives — that you can’t really get the conversation going. And half the time that conversation is the entire point. It’s all about focus, and the drop in quality you experience when you lose focus.

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