Posts tagged with classroom.
Should laptops be banned in the classroom?
When I attended university over 30 years ago, at Concordia in Montreal, I remember the beginning of each semester: the professor would hand out the syllabus, explain the course expectations, and briefly discuss the final exam. And whether or not smoking was allowed in the classroom.
Often, the answer was "yes."
It would seem completely bizarre to today's university students. A lecture hall filled with cigarette smoke? Heck, more often than not, the professor would light up, too.
For me, today's lecture halls present an almost equally bizarre image: Dozens of glowing screens fill the classroom, with the occasional power cord stretching across the aisle.
But is this technological advancement in the classroom actually a good thing?
My two oldest, who are in their second year at the University of Waterloo, actually prefer using a pen and notebook. They think that a laptop takes too much space, and that it's easier to just carry a couple of notebooks to school.
The part that I find hard to believe is that they aren't distracted by the constant hum of clicking keyboards as other students type their notes. I'm not so sure I'd be able to concentrate on a lecture if I were surrounded by dozens of busy laptops.
But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate and recognize the high-tech advantages today's students have gained.
Most of the classes that my two oldest have taken include an online component, where they can access practice tests, quizzes, course notes, and even a discussion board to communicate with other students, teaching assistants, and the professor. Some professors are embracing the technology as a way to communicate with students, inside the classroom and outside.
But some professors aren't.
According to a recent column in the London Free Press, some professors have actually banned the use of laptops in their classrooms, claiming they're too much of a distraction. One of my son's professors at the University of Waterloo doesn't embrace laptops in the classroom. He's even offended by them.
"He seems to think that students aren't listening to his lecture when they're using a laptop," my son explained. "He doesn't understand that students use laptops to take notes and keep up with the lecture." Right. Some of them really are listening, despite their laptops.
Of course, some of these students with their open laptops aren't exactly taking notes, trying to keep up with the professor. For every note taker, there's a Tetris player. Or an e-mail checker. Or a Facebook update. But does that mean professors should ban laptops in their classrooms? Maybe.
Those students who check their e-mail and play games during a lecture probably wouldn't suddenly become model note-takers if laptops were banned from the classroom, anyway. They would just find a different distraction.
Like maybe lighting up a cigarette.
Tagged with
classroom,
laptop,
computer,
ban,
prof,
distraction
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