Computers are a tool that should help students with research, papers, and analysis. Class time is meant for learning and that's best done with attention to the teacher and without distractions.On a windy morning in downtown Washington, a hundred Georgetown Law students gathered in a hall for David Cole's lecture on democracy and coercion. The desks were cluttered with books, Thermoses and half-eaten muffins.
Another item was noticeable in its absence: laptop computers. They were packed away under chairs, tucked into backpacks, powered down and forgotten.
Cole has banned laptops from his classes, compelling students to take notes the way their parents did: on paper.
1 comment:
While I agree that the classroom is for learning and best done without distraction, I'll contend that computers are not a "distraction", as implied. Firstly, let's compare the computer to handwritten notes. Some students, particularly nowadays, type faster than they write. Moreover, what they type is legible compared to messy handwriting.
Note the professor has banned computers, but not cell phones. I would say cell phones are an even bigger distraction in the classroom; on a cell phone there is one screen to look at and all of one's attention is focused there. On a computer multiple windows may be open, allowing quick switches between tasks. While you may argue that opening another window is a distraction and the brain cannot quickly jump from looking at Facebook to discussing the Constitution, I'll agree, but I'll also say such jumping is easier on a computer than a cell phone.
But look at the bigger issue: student freedom. Students (in law school) are paying huge sums of money to be there and learn. If they choose to waste their time that is there prerogative, and they need to be allowed to make that choice. This is not about classroom decorum or respect for the professor, this is an individual's right to act as s/he sees fit. Isn't it slightly ironic that in a democracy and coercion class, democratic rights are stripped and students are coerced?
But indeed it is Mr. Cole's classroom and he can set the rules as he sees fit.
Post a Comment