Comments on: Laptops to stay in (my) classroom

By: Madeline Twomey

Madeline Twomey — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:48:50 +0000

Dean Lawrence,

I just stumbled upon this…

Firstly- how wonderful to be quoted in your blog! I just wanted to say thank you for your contribution to this conversation- I know it is an issue far from resolved. Much like many who have commented, I too believe that while the laptop may make distraction more accessible, distraction itself is nothing new. I admit to falling subject to (you hit the nail right on the head!) shoe sales, emails etc., but in classes I enjoy and when the professor is engaging his/her students- students will pay attention! And if they don’t- well it’s their loss, right?

Thanks again,
Madeline

By: gdubesq

gdubesq — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:04:50 +0000

Great post. As a graduate from GWLaw, and as a student who’s generation helped to bring in the “laptop boomers”, I am sure it is a culture shock and huge generational gap indicator for many professors. However, I remember a certain professor (at GWLaw) who would tape his classes. And many students who were web-surfing during lectures were caught on camera for all to see (he would play the video during the next class). It was hilarious and VERY effective. Most students were so scared that the back of their heads and computer screens would show up on a video during the next class, that they rarely, if ever, searched the web for non-class related purposes in that professor’s class.

Good times GWLaw. Good times.

By: DK

DK — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:48:21 +0000

I may be in the minority among students, but I would love it if more professors banned laptops in their classrooms. This is not because it bothers me what anyone else is doing on their computer, but because I am of weak moral fiber. Rare is the class during which I have not engaged in some sort of extracurricular internet activity, even if it’s just reading the e-mail that pops up. Perhaps it is because I am a low-quantity note-taker, or just the way that I learn, but I don’t feel that having a computer in class regularly enhances my learning. While I would be wary of prohibiting laptops in a large, lecture-based class, I can’t help but feel that doing so in smaller seminar classes would have anything but a positive effect on class discussion and learning. I know that if I was a professor, I wouldn’t want to stare at the back of everyone’s computer while trying to teach a class. I would oppose a mandate from the administration on this issue, but would absolutely favor a recommendation that professors consider prohibiting laptops in seminars (especially those without a final exam, where students cannot complain that their note-taking ability is inhibited).

By: BubbadubU

BubbadubU — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:43:42 +0000

Dean Lawrence said: “I still believe that a good teacher will beat a good shoe sale any day.”

Totally agree with that last statement. Professors need to realize that the answer is not to ban laptops, but rather to embrace them through more interactive lectures, web discussions, in-class on-line research, and video sources. Tie students computers in to the lectures and create a more effective learning environment.

I’m sure it’s painfully obvious when someone in your class is not paying attention. Isn’t one of the points of the Socratic method to be able to remedy that? Call them out, engage them, make them look silly. Shoe sales will then become less important.

By: Logan

Logan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:30:26 +0000

Excellent post. As a recent graduate (not GW-Law however), I can tell you first hand the benefits of having a laptop in the classroom (I type about 4x as fast as I write). I can also tell you first hand how distracting it can be to have a laptop in the classroom (Boring lecture or class discussion and I’m reading something engaging online and maybe engage in a blogging debate on a random topic). In the end, it matters not whether a laptop is allowed, or not allowed, in the classroom and more on the professor’s ability to engage his/her students. If you simply lecture, I will simply take notes. If you want your students to pay attention, engage them by asking them questions on what their opinions are and why. In law, as in most humanities, reality means less than the perception of reality and one’s ability to create a favorable perception can only be enhanced by seminar type classes that encourage students to debate each other with the professor acting as a facilitator.

By: Jerry Newhall

Jerry Newhall — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:02:30 +0000

It also doesn’t hurt that you roam the class, leaving would-be shoe-shoppers in fear their Dean will catch them on Zappos.

Nice post.

By: RNS

RNS — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:58:30 +0000

There’s an easy fix for the problem of distracting classmates: laptop privacy filters. A GW Law-branded version would be the ultimate “accepted student” swag!