<p>I used my laptop in almost all of my classes, unless it was a very small class where we were all at one table and it would have been difficult for me to engage from behind a screen, or if it was a language class where I used a specific book/curriculum and didn’t need it. I just find it’s really hard to keep track of paper notes for me personally, my notebooks quickly become a jumble and I lose things. Also I like ease of being able to do a digital search of all my notes for a particular key word or phrase, it can make studying easier. </p>
<p>However, I definitely would do “extracurricular stuff” on my laptop in calss as well, and I wasn’t even the most blatant offender. Kids definitely take advantage, it’s hard not to when we’re so used to being plugged in an doing multiple things at once. But I think as long as you try to use it responsibly, it’s okay to bring a computer if it really helps you.</p>
<p>None of my students use them, although I do not prohibit them. Using a pen and paper, i…e writing, is probably a lot more productive.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on the class and student.</p>
<p>Generally,learning is still the input of the student (how much you are studying) and the teacher (how well you can explain). Technology and laptops do not help anyone learn. </p>
<p>So go ahead and use them. They could be a replacement to handwritten notes. Superior? No. A different technology? Yes.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your great replies. Whereas before I was going to prompt S to take his laptop in, now I think I’ll caution against it unless he has to take volumes of notes. Often, when he was doing his homework in HS I’d find him on Facebook or sports sites instead. So he’ll probably be way too tempted in the midst of the not so fascinating lectures.</p>
<p>I have come to the conclusion that students in my classes with laptops are NOT paying attention in class. They cannot seem to answer any questions directed to them regarding class material. Most of my laptop students do not participate in class discussions. Since I only see the back of the laptop, I have no idea what they are doing while I am lecturing or mediating a class discussion. That is their choice and their loss (especially in terms of participation points). When students complain to me about the distraction of another student’s laptop or texting, I will try and put a stop to it.</p>
<p>I have evaluated colleagues’ classes, sitting in the back of the class, and my observation is that most of the open laptops are on facebook or some game program. I think that the lure of other programs is very strong for students, and perhaps only the most motivated of students use their laptops for taking notes most of the time.</p>
<p>It seems to me to be a huge waste of tuition dollars to sit in a classroom and play on Facebook. I have told my own college-aged children that they are to keep their laptops in their backpacks or their dorm rooms.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is of any concern for you or your S, but if you’re considering getting a desktop versus a laptop, I would definitely recommend getting a laptop. Most new laptops have enough RAM/memory/etc. for college students not doing any heavy gaming. And while they might not be the greatest for bringing to class, their portability it really useful in group settings, i.e. for group projects, group study sessions, and in non-academic situations (movie/online tv-watching etc.)</p>
<p>I’m planning on taking mine into all classes (except for math/math science classes). I mean, I much prefer typing to writing, especially because I have tendon issues in my dominant hand.</p>
<p>If profs are banning laptops, are they banning daydreaming, looking out the window, and doodling too? This isn’t kindergarten. Unless it’s a distraction to others (big “unless”), it seems to me it’s the student’s prerogative to be inattentive and waste classroom time (and tuition). If a prof is unable to engage the attention of many of the students in the room, or if the students in a course are able to earn grades they find acceptable without paying attention or participating in class, the problem is with the prof. A student who would otherwise be surfing online or playing a game isn’t going to suddenly become an attentive listener and active participant in the class just because his laptop is closed.</p>
<p>Professors are within their rights to ban lap tops, but in my experience most don’t.</p>
<p>Naturally, the usefulness of laptops depend on the subject matter. (It’s much more useful to use a laptop in a history class where the (disorganized) professor talks really fast, than in a math class.) </p>
<p>Laptops are also useful in classes that require lots of pdf sources. It saves trees (and money) when I don’t print out the readings. </p>
<p>It is a distraction when students are on Facebook during class. However, having the internet accessible to look things up during seminar classes can actually be useful. </p>
<p>If students are planning to take a laptop to class it helps to have a smaller laptop with a long battery life.</p>
<p>I love looking up things the professor is talking about here and there if I have a question I can’t ask right away. It keeps me much more engaged when I start to feel lost, and I can take more detailed notes as I can type a lot faster than I can write.</p>
<p>I bought a privacy screen for my laptop and sit toward the back to minimize how much I can distract others. Something like this:</p>
<p>Dear parent, When your child attends college , you are not buying a servant to do as you want. Professors are not servants. I am not an entertainer.</p>
<p>You are buying an education. Professors, the professionals, decide how you will get this education. They choose the best way to give you the education you are paying for. If you do not like it, go somewhere else.</p>
<p>I personally expect my students to attend class and participate, and part of their grade is dependent on this. I collect homework. I understand that these students are adults and should be able to make their own decisions about doing HW and attending class. However, if I do not do the above, many students will not attend class and will not do hw. Many of them will fail.</p>
<p>My job is to teach, not to fail a lot of “not kindergarten” students paying their own tuition. I do what I have to do to achieve my objective. I do not care if the students love or hate me. If they learned anything, and hopefully something related to my subject, I have accomplished my goal.</p>
<p>I would suggest not bringing a laptop to class unless its required. I brought mine to class this year and I will never do it again because I got very distracted.</p>
<p>However, again, this depends on how much self-discipline you have. I just don’t have a lot of it haha</p>
<h1>31 Morrismn, I’m with you one hundred percent. I will allow laptops in my class as long as the student is willing to share his/her notes with the class. It is rude and insulting for a student to be on Facebook, etc. during lecture. Class is a social environment where polite interaction is essential, and it’s a two-way street. I’m a human being, not a TV screen. No one likes being treated with disrespect. If you think I’m boring, drop my class and take someone else’s. No one is forcing you to be in my classroom.</h1>
<p>Why would someone who types their notes be obligated to share them? That’s not fair that others would get to take advantage of my work just because I used a different method of notetaking.</p>
My take was that is just a condition to make sure people were really taking notes and not on facebook or games or the web … if they were not paying attention they would not have notes to share.</p>
<p>i have the option to do so with my laptop (and the profs can’t disallow me from doing so because it is outlined in my accomidations), but i only bring it if the class is 4 hours long. Its just to heavy to lug around. i prefer my digital recorder instead.</p>
<p>morrismm, you can make attendance, participation and homework elements of a student’s grade, and I certainly think it’s reasonable to do so, but you can’t compel interest and attentiveness in class. Do you also require students to sit up straight, face front, clean the lenses of their glasses and turn off their cell phones? Do you check their notebooks each day to be sure they are taking adequate notes? I pay hefty tuition for my child’s education, but I don’t expect any professor to compel her to take advantage of her opportunity by enforcing good classroom habits. If large numbers of your students are on the internet during your classes, it may say something about their lack of commitment to college (I don’t know what kind of institution employs you)–not something that is your business or your problem. It may also say say something about your teaching skills; certainly it’s something to consider. You may not be paid to be an entertainer, but you are paid to engage your students. During classes with some of my best professors, I think a bomb could have exploded in the next room and no one would have noticed. In classes with some of the worst, my mind was often a million miles away without benefit of a laptop.</p>