Monday, January 26, 2009
Laptops prohibited?
Laptops are an essential necessity for any university student to have and I can't think of one student off the top of my head who doesn't own one. Homework assignments, online courses, essays, emails to professors/student peers, etc. What I'm curious to know is why 75% of students, at least in my classes, bring their laptops to university lectures? The average financial cost of a single term university course is around $550, but what are we getting out of that $550? A three hour internet-surfing bonanza or a lesson we'll never forget from a highly educated professor? I'm not condemning laptops in the classroom, they can be very useful, but I wonder what would happen if they were prohibited in the class room. Would students learn more from professors if they didn't have facebook tempting them every minute of every class, or would they learn less because they don't have the powerpoints downloaded to read as the prof reads them out to us anyways. If we went back to professors using chalkboards and students bringing only themselves and some lined paper to a university lecture, would we learn more? Maybe them then we would remember our professors lesson for the day rather than who wrote on our wall at 12:54 pm.
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This is something that I wonder about as well. I'm one of the few students who don't bring a laptop to class and I think I learn just fine. If there are lectures posted online, I'll print them out or look at them before or after lecture. I wish the people who bring laptops to class and fool around on them would realize that they are not only distracting themselves, but the people around them. I have lost count of the number of times I have found myself looking at someone else's screen while they're playing a game or looking at Perez Hilton (ugh). As attached as we are to our computers, I think that students should learn some self control, and if they want to bring their laptops to class then they should focus on their lecture. Some people take better notes on a computer, so I think that is why they should not be banned, plus I think we have missed that opportunity and it would cause too much of an uproar trying to ban them. A computer is a great way to learn, but those people who are checking their facebook page should realize, that the lecture they're missing? Yeah, that's a great way to learn too.
ReplyDeleteIn one of my courses, interpersonal business communication, my professor made us shut off all electronic devices in class, not only laptops but cell phones as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever been in a class where students were more engaged in the subject matter. Discussion was also very well attended by all students because they weren't preoccupied by facebook, msn, or instant messaging.
Your point that laptops should not be allowed is a valid one however, extremely hard, especially in this day and age to enforce. I would say that cellphones should be prohibited in all classes because they have no academic purpose. However, in classes such as tutorials and seminars maybe laptops should be prohibited because the discussion and participation increases substantially with the absence of these devices.
I agree, banning laptops would be extremely hard to enforce. Many people type much faster than they write, and in classes where the professor talks a mile a minute, typing is a necessity for most students. Also, many students don't use laptops to surf Facebook for the entire class. I for one like to use Wikipedia during class to look up terms that might be explained more clearly than the professor does.
ReplyDeleteI believe banning cell phones in classes on the other hand is a smart idea, because as Illuminate mentioned, they provide no academic purpose and only take away from the lecture.
In a way I agree with the temptation of the Internet that many students have when they are in lecture. I'm not going to lie I am in lecture as I write this comment, but I do not believe that having a laptop has been detrimental to my university career.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if laptops were to be banned from classrooms here at Laurier, there would be an uproar from the students.
The reason I bring my laptop to class is because I can type faster than I can write, and I'll admit it my writing isn't always legible. And when it comes to studying it is easier to put notes together while they are on my computer.
I do believe, however, that there needs to be a restriction put on the Internet while we are in our classes. Maybe a block on facebook, in the classrooms. But overall taking away a student's right to bring a laptop to class is just ridiculous.