We thank gentle reader Steve-O for directing us to the comments of Josh Waitzkin (the subject of the wonderful film Searching for Bobby Fischer) on the epidemic of "multitasking" via laptop computer in the college classroom. We're not as sure as Waitzkin that No Child Left Behind typifies the kind of approach to education that engenders this unadmirable habit, but we affirm his notion that good classrooms are reflective places, not havens of frantic, multiple activities.
We continue to contemplate whether the fall 2008 semester will be the one in which we ban the laptop from our classroom. In our Tory way having tried moral exhortation ("If you use a laptop, use it carefully and sparingly") and found it impotent against the lure of the glowing screen, and still unwilling to embrace the libertarianism that allows students to do as they please and suffer the consequences, we may take a step toward benevolent fascism. For learning's sake, of course.
8 comments:
For whatever its worth, I found my laptop to be an important tool during my seminary education. It allowed me to take much more complete and organized notes, which in turn helped a) when it came time to refer back to those notes for tests/papers, and b) when I have gone back to said notes to refresh my memory on a topic now that I am no longer in academia.
Having said that, I do realize the distractions some feel to do other things with their laptops while in class, and understand the problem that poses to the learning process. And perhaps there is a distinction between the undergraduate and seminary classroom - although I well remember Dr. Cottrell calling out a student who was actually watching a movie during Doctrine of God.
SWNID > Mussolini
back in my CBC days, the laptop was what made the classes bearable - i doubt i could have taken nearly the notes i needed to take by hand.
we also must remember that this was in the days before CCU had WiFi.
and besides that: how are students supposed to write all your zingers down and publish booklets, flyers, and yearbook optical illusions with them?? HOW, i ask you?!?
uh, huh. that's what i thought.
Coming from a pre-laptop period in education and now returning to higher-ed when laptops are now prevalent, I have a different perspective.
The vast majority of my classmates [mostly over the age of 30] bring laptops to class. And I must admit that I've had some boring instructures in the program that has motivated people to solitare, or Facebook, or anything else to stave off the boredom.
But now that I'm paying out-of-pocket for my education, I'm sp determined to get the most of every minute of instruction that I leave my laptop at home. Sure, I've endured some fatigue, but in those moments when I'd most likely be checking my fantasy baseball stats I occasionally hear a profound statement that I would have otherwise missed.
With the wireless web, the temptation to surf is too great. I know transcribing one's notes into a Word document might seem arduous, but it seems to be the better alternative to a disengaged classroom.
As evidenced here, it depends on the student. I'm in seminary at Lincoln and have found my laptop to be invaluable in keeping me organized and on time. The particular classes I have had a chance to use it for did not require constant screen time.
Based on my experiences, others experiences, and SWNID's intellectual capacity and obtuse humor in class (maybe it's not obtuse, maybe it's just above 90% of your student's heads) I offer these suggestions:
Your students will get even less of what you say if they don't have access to online information resources such as Wikipedia and Webster's Dictionary.
Require all laptops that are online in your class to set "Seldom Wrong, Never In Doubt" as their homepage.
If a student doesn't understand something after 1 week AND they use a laptop, question their use of said laptop.
Find out what students paid out of pocket for their courses and allow them to use laptops.
Might I suggest a partial ban. Such as (but not limited to) lids closed during discussion times.
In addition to the aid that a laptop computer provides for taking notes, there are other advantages to their use in a classroom. Particular to SWNID's field of study are online Bibles. I am typically hesitant to use anecdotal evidence, but will indulge momentarily. As a student in a certain institution's NT graduate school, my laptop computer has enabled me to engage in richer class discussions. I can find relevant texts more quickly and can compare different English translations without the need to flip through several open books at once.
When I was a student, we rolled our eyes at the guys with laptops. And the clicky clicky drove me nuts.
It takes away from the atmosphere when every screen has solitaire too.
Question - is the Blackberry exempt from all these rules? :)
mattc
I have been seeing a lot of similar blogs about this topic. It's a difficult one. A lot of students have started to organize their notes and citations using note software on their computers. Though a lot of professors and fellow students feel that the laptops are a distraction. It's easy to see both sides of the argument, (for me at least) but from an outside perspective I see it as being crazy that a student would attend a lecture that they are paying a lot of money for to poke someone on Facebook! I know it's going to happen, but I've read other comments that say that person is either: 1) going to sleep in the class or zone out, or 2) fiddle on their laptop. Either way, they're not going to get anything out of the lecture, but if laptops are becoming a distraction to a specific professor or group of students then removing laptops from that classroom should be further pursued.
Thanks for the link to the article, I enjoyed reading it and I'm glad I came across this blog!
Post a Comment