http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
And professors making their classes more "interesting," whatever that means, might not be the answer. Perhaps we can all learn to exist without gadgets for 50 minute blocks at a time and absorb information from someone who might know what they're talking about.]]>May 3rd 2006 10:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
For example math: sole purpose of the subject is to evolve your brain. But if you will be offloading work prof gives for *your* brain to say MathCAD/MathLab/etc - the net result will be close to zero.

Experience have already shown, such practice pays back. I never being good math, but in the end (graduation years) I pared much better to the "MathCAD geniuses".]]>May 3rd 2006 10:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
On the other hand I have seen the 17 inch Mac laptops and huge Dell laptops in some of my classes and even if the person is sitting in the front if they start playing a game or if their cute/obnoxious/interesting screen-saver comes on everyone in the 20 rows behind them can see it.

I personally would advocate something that says laptop useage in the classroom is dependant on the person. Everyone starts out have the right to use their laptop, but the professor also has the right to ask you to spin your laptop around at any point and show him what's on your screen.

However, on top of all this I most heartily agree, some of the best teachers I have ever had have had the most minimul laptop usesage in their classes.

]]>May 3rd 2006 10:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
If you're that easily distracted that you can't pay attention to what you are doing when surrounded by the tapping of keys, you will never make it in todays business world anyways.

I can see it now: "Boss, I can't get that project to you on time, Jim was typing all day long and it just threw off my concentration."]]>May 3rd 2006 10:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
Second, I also agree that most people are using their laptops in class to surf the web, check their email, play games, watch movies, listen to music, or do homework. Rarely do I see anyone taking notes in class.

Third, laptops are noisy and obstructive to other students. It’s hard to pay attention to the professor when the student in front of you is watching Family Guy.

Fourth, just because you’re paying an arm and a leg for the Privilege to attend a post secondary institution doesn’t mean you have the Right to do what you want. You are not paying for a service and the professors are not in your employment.
]]>May 3rd 2006 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
Moreover, and more interestngly, I think you're taking a position which is common these days, but misguided, in your claim that students should be allowed to do whatever they want in class. Education is not a standard consumer service; just because the students are (in most but not all cases) paying the school, hence paying the teachers, that doesn't mean the teachers are their employees. In this regard, anyway, it's more like a police force, where you pay into a system with the understanding that the system, in some instances, gets to tell you what to do. In my classroom, I set the rules, and if you don't like them, take another class, or find another school. If I were still teaching (and perhaps this explains why I'm not) I certainly wouldn't allow laptops in my classroom, for note-taking or poker-playing.
]]>May 3rd 2006 10:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
I'm all in favour of using technology in the classroom, and using wireless/mobile devices, but they really do need to be (a) integrated into the instruction and (b) isolated from the Internet (local networks okay maybe).]]>May 3rd 2006 10:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
The line that I found most disagreeable though was: "...hey Prof, try making your classes more interesting if you want people to pay attention." Where it may be true that many professors are about as exciting as a tree, it is the students responsibility to learn. I can see no reason why having a computer is necessary or helpful during a lecture. Transcribing from a dictation recorder later is a better method, since it allows the student to pay attention during class and transcribe later.

]]>May 3rd 2006 10:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
I purchased an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad X41 *tablet* laptop for the express purpose of taking notes in class. When folded into tablet mode running MS OneNote, it becomes no more distracting than a normal paper notebook. Yes the *temptation* may be there to check email, etc. but my sense of professionalism as a student prevents me from doing so.

Even without a laptop, students are still able to 'zone out'. However, I also agree with (1) in that distractions to other students or the instructor should be minimized. But then what's next? Will there be a ban on papers, textbooks, cellphones, clicky-pens, and the attractive co-student all as possible distractions? ;)]]>May 3rd 2006 10:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
Laptops are great for taking notes, but they're also distracting. I know, because I'm at the office, and I should be working, not posting to this comment board.]]>May 3rd 2006 10:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
"Video podcasts"

See, if the whole lecture is recorded (to watch at home), anyone can use them to make their computer notes at home where it wont distract anyone (and they will have enough time to type in everything needed)

They can also spend their time in the lecture listening to him/her rather than worrying about condensing the information into useful notes]]>May 3rd 2006 10:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 10:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/It is a reality that all the professors are not equally attractive and it is also true that all the students are not equally hardworking. I think that bringing laptops are only distraction for the class. If you do not like the lecture of a professor then do not go for his course in the first place.
]]>May 3rd 2006 10:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
It doesn't matter how interesting your lecture is, or even how important it is for success of the business. People will be people and they will get distracted by an urgent email or reading engadget and won't absorb the lecture material.]]>May 3rd 2006 10:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
However, usually it wasn't me that was being distracting. It was the guy two rows in front of me that had his laptop open to eTrade, AIM, and ESPN simultaneously. I can tell you that laptops were almost never a problem in the classes that didn't have WiFi access....

Also, RE: #18, maybe you're a much more devoted student than I, but I can tell you that if the lectures were available for download, I never would have gone to class. Putting up the slides that a professor uses is one thing, it's a nice key to memory so you don't have to worry as much about taking notes at the time. Putting up the lectures themselves is a ticket to an empty lecture hall.]]>May 3rd 2006 10:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
Secondly, we are given so many cases and materials online that it would cost a small fortune and a couple rainforests if we all printed them out.

Finally, It isn't how much I pay that would make me mad. Or the fact that the bar requires attendance and I can't just skip like one poster suggested. It is just the best way to do things, whether the professor likes it or not. I have found that the people taking handwritten notes are usually daydreaming more than me anyway.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
And yes... I do have a note in my disability file that mentions my laptop, because otherwise I would need to use a note-taker (someone in the classes being paid to xerox their notes for me), due to my disabilities, and this way I can actually take my own notes. And the speed of typing, as compared to writing, allows me to write down the things that will actually be useful - the anecdotes or asides by the teacher that aren't mentioned in the textbook - as well as the things that may be duplicated in the professor's notes or text.

Yes, my hand cramps up every time I have to take a long test. But I much prefer that to being in slight pain every day from writing all day. Maybe it's because I'm lefthanded and was one of those people that adapted by craning my hand around the top of the paper. But I really doubt that any students can get a note from the disability office based on hand pain alone.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
I personally used a sidekick or pocketpc during classes and still pulled off about a 3.5 in my major just by reading the text. With a few exceptions my professors were useless, as was college in general.

I find myself wishing I went to a technical school instead of college. Before someone chimes in with a "That's what you get at community college" comment, I went to a satellite Penn State campus. The education system as a whole needs an overhaul from the bottom up in this country. ]]>May 3rd 2006 11:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
Research has shown that people who are writing down everything that is being said are not fully engaged.

And to the issue of a boring class, yes it is the responsibility of the instructor to make the class interesting. But part of that is to create an environment free of outside distractions.

Rod]]>May 3rd 2006 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/]]>May 3rd 2006 11:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
I am also disturbed by the former Columbia professor's comments about discouraging note taking in general. I agree that the professor gets to set the rule and that class participation is a very good thing, but when it conflicts with a student's learning styles and there ability to review what they learned in class, then this policy may infact hurt some students.

I am working on a post about this very subject for my blog. I will have it posted in a week or so. Please read it and feel free to disagree. http://k12edtech.blogspot.com ]]>May 3rd 2006 11:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
"The Internet ate my homework" has now become the official excuse for the 21st century.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/This has nothing to do with laptops for me, sure they're used in some classes...it's about ACCEPTING the fact that you are not your own boss when you go to school. You pay to be told what to do in order to earn your degree. And you either accept those terms or not. But students today have a disgusting sense of indignance about them for things that are normal decisions from respected professors. Get over it, and if you don't like it, get out.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/]]>May 3rd 2006 11:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/May 3rd 2006 11:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
Yes, I take my laptop to class, but only one, my CS class. No it's not required there, and yes I typically browse the Internet and talk on AIM. But guess what? It's also my highest grade. I can sit and listen and absorb information while he drones on and on. I tried a few classes without the laptop and it turns out that "distraction" keeps me awake and alert to hear anything that might be slightly useful.

I have a Dell 700m so it's a small footprint and I turn the screen brightness down to A) save battery life, and B) not distract anyone.

Oh, and I absolutely agree that I'm paying tuition, and I'm not paying to get some tenured asshole to mess around with me or bored me to death. I'll be whatever I need to do to get the grades in the class. It's the teachers responsibility to present the information they claim to be so passionate about in a passionate and engaging way. If it's not passionate and engaging, you're damn right I'll do what I want. No, I don't have to go to the school, but I'm sure as hell at least finishing the semester I've already paid for. Sadly, I think that tenure is the problem here. "It's "their" classroom." They should have the option to be fired if they suck when they get tenure just as I have the option to not go the school. We'll see how much it matters to have your own classroom when zero dollars are flowing in from students.

It all comes down to my responsibility to get the grades. If I can do it with a laptop, leave me alone. I did the work to get into the college I now go to, let me continue to do it my way.

Oh, and it's not a community college, its the second oldest college in America.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
I occasionally pull out my Zaurus when I want to hack something to try out what the professor just said; but that's a lot less distracting.

I'm not sure what the difference is—maybe because most of the professors at my school give out hardcopies of their slides, so the easiest way to take notes is by writing on the slides.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
"Before someone chimes in with a 'That's what you get at community college' comment, I went to a satellite Penn State campus."

Get a clue. Penn State satellite campuses *are* community colleges.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/03/professors-banning-in-class-laptop-use/
As to the people who say that the prof just reads the text to them, just don't show up for class. That's what I did, and I went to school long before the class status was updated on a web page. I ran the risk of missing tests and had to go through the trouble of finding out what the prof was covering through other means. Nowadays, you can see the assignments on the web and read them without going to class.

I know there are classes where laptops are useful, but in large lectures, they probably should be out.

And look, we've got a law school bunghole in here. Oh yeah, keep on with that "Paper Chase" stuff. Keep thinking that law school is so much different than everything else, sooo much tougher. Only thing worse than the flood of worthless lawyers is the law profs and their Socratic methods, emphasizing the length of their johnson by comparing their knowledge to that of students.]]>May 3rd 2006 11:44AM