divine angst

While I understand how frustrating it might to discover mid-semester that your professor is banning laptops from the classroom, I don’t disagree with the professor’s rationale or even think it’s necessarily a bad idea.

“My main concern was they were focusing on trying to transcribe every word that was I saying, rather than thinking and analyzing,” Entman said Monday. “The computers interfere with making eye contact. You’ve got this picket fence between you and the students.”

I think this is pretty true–many students use their laptops to hide from the professor (yes, myself included) and many students tend to transcribe when taking notes on a computer–particularly when they don’t understand the material very well. Yes, again, myself included. It’s instinct. When I am confused, I take solace that my notes are, essentially, dictation. If only I could type faster!

But I would be interested in taking a class with a “no laptop” policy, if the class was one I really wanted to take, and the professor was someone I really wanted to have–and if I knew about the policy ahead of time. Consider–if everyone in the class is proscribed from using the computer, there’s no lost competitive edge. Everyone is relegated to taking notes by hand. A spirit of camaraderie would probably flourish, too–those with good handwriting would be courted by those with chicken-scratch, and study groups would help one another transcribe the handwritten notes into typewritten outlines. And, again, everyone would be in the same boat, and none of us write so much anymore that anyone would be likely to be a better handwriter.

Now, to be honest, I’d probably not want a no-laptop policy for a 1L class, particularly because I think it’s important that everyone in such a class be aware of the policy so no one complains about it (á la the students in the article). But I think for an upper level class, it could work quite well. So, professors, if you’re interested in banning laptops, consider it! But not for 1L classes. And decide before the semester begins–and, indeed, before registration. Make sure the laptop policy is clearly listed on the course description so that every student knows what he or she is getting into. And see what happens!

Hat tip: JD2B