<p>I feel like I know a secret. I've gone back to grad school. A lot of students bring laptops to class. At any given time, about half of the students are taking notes and half have facebook open, often using the chat feature. This is in small classes too -- 8 people or so! The professor often has no idea, though can sometimes tell when people don't seem engaged. (Web browsing is not limited to when the professor is talking but also when classmates give presentations! This surprises me even more.) I must admit, I am not guilt free myself. I don't bring a laptop but I sneak a peek at my smartphone when things get slow. I know it is terribly disrespectful to the professor, and I might miss something really important. If I was the professor, I would be really disappointed. </p>
<p>So, students, do you see this at your schools too? Do some schools block facebook in classroom buildings? Do professors stroll around the back of the class to see what people have up on their laptops? How prevalent is this in your experience?</p>
<p>I don’t know where you are going to grad school or what you are pursuing your degree in, but was I was in grad school (most recently in the mid-1990s I’ll grant you) there was no way we could have chatted on FB or browsed the web even if we had been able to. All of my classes were seminar-style and required ongoing discussion. Anyone tuning out would quickly have been made prey for both professor and fellow students.</p>
<p>I taught college in the mid 1990s and no one brought laptops to class. The web existed but was not nearly as rich with material. There were message boards but no social media. Professors were just starting to use PowerPoint in class. Things have changed.</p>
<p>I go to a popular large private university. Most of the classes, I would say, are didactic rather than case study type discussions, though thereis some of that too. This is due the nature of the material (it is a health care field). The people on FB are usually able to answer a question if called upon.</p>
<p>This happens all the time, not just kids being on FB but searching the web for lots of things. Since kids take notes on their laptops there’s really no way to prevent this and I’d be very surprised if profs didn’t know this was happening.</p>
<p>I’m worried that my D will be one of these offenders.</p>
<p>My S, who will be a junior, never takes his laptop to class unless it is a class that utilizes the computer - like his journalism classes where they create, edit and compile copy for a website or newspaper assignment.</p>
<p>Several of S’s profs have a “no laptop in class” rule in the syllabus.</p>
<p>I know this happens at times in some of my classes. Believe me, professors know. I sometimes feel that if the student doesn’t care enough to pay attention, that’s their prerogative. However, I will walk around the classroom and not how quickly screens change as I go by. </p>
<p>But I will say, this doesn’t happen often and if a class is structured well, limited straight lecture, than the use of laptops is unnecessary.</p>
<p>Yes, it definitely depends on the class and the professor. Another factor, I think, is how the grading/evaluation is done. If the course grade is based on papers and class presentations, it is less necessary to pay attention than if there are tests and regular quizzes.</p>
<p>I found no need to bring a laptop to class regularly, and taking notes on paper (usually printouts of the professor’s powerpoints) works much better for me, especially to draw diagrams, etc. which is hard to do on a laptop. I sometimes look things up using Google on my phone during class.</p>
<p>That’s why H has the “no laptops in class” rule. They were not taking notes and if they were, there would be quite the cacophony of tapping, clicking and clacking of keyboards. And yes, he knew exactly what they were doing and it wasn’t taking class notes. Ironically, H’s college is one that includes a laptop with their tuition (I won’t say “free” laptop, because the cost is indeed buried in tuition and fees). His students also think they are being discrete when texting - ummm, not so much.</p>
<p>“This happens all the time, not just kids being on FB but searching the web for lots of things. Since kids take notes on their laptops there’s really no way to prevent this and I’d be very surprised if profs didn’t know this was happening.”</p>
<p>Professors know it’s happening. As long as:
(a) it’s not disruptive; and
(b) the student NEVER complains about his/her grade
having the student in class is better than the student being absent.</p>
<p>Yes, there are often students on Facebook in lectures. The school does not block it and professors do not walk around the back of the classroom. This is not high school; the students are adults and capable of choosing how to manage their time.</p>
<p>And if the students are zoned out on FB during the lecture, and still passing the classes, perhaps the professor needs to think through whether something other than an apparently superfluous lecture is called for.</p>
<p>Except that would require thought and work, things a large number of college professors are not willing to invest in anything as low-priority as undergraduate education.</p>
<p>I see it as their loss in missing the valuable opportunity to learn. I personally find it very disrespectful, but it’s their choice to blow off a valuable education browsing facebook or reddit.</p>
<p>Yes, it is their loss, but ours as parents too if we are contributing the substantial tuition dollars. I am glad I actually got to see it happening first-hand, and have talked about it with my kids. If I had not seen it, I would probably not have known how prevalent it was. I haven’t asked about it on campus visits, though.</p>
<p>This is why some law schools, including Yale I believe, have blocked wifi access to classrooms. Sad that students can’t stay off Facebook/other web sites for a length of class.</p>
<p>My professor husband also bans laptops from his classes. He knows there are still kids who text or facebook using their cellphones. But that’s undergraduates. He doesn’t have a problem with graduate students.</p>
<p>I had one professor who banned laptops from class. Personally, I think the same people would’ve participated in class no matter what, but the people who were just staring off into space for the whole hour and a half were the ones who would’ve been on Facebook.</p>
<p>I bring my laptop to class because it’s beneficial. It’s easier to add in new information, easier to write down longer parts of important information, and generally easier to fill in missed information (for example, I’d sometimes miss definitions in chemistry class – nothing a quick Google search couldn’t fix). For the most part, though, I kept my Wifi off when I took notes. It’s a pretty simple hack, but an extremely underutilized one.</p>
<p>That said, yes, students do use Facebook in class, but if they still manage to get good grades, it probably isn’t hurting them as much as their parents (who pay five figure tuitions to have their child talk about the rager last night to the their BFF of the week). But then you have to ask yourself – why do students use Facebook in class so much? I’ve had several professors go on tangents about their lives that I have no desire to listen to. I’d much rather use that time to do something else, and that’s where the Internet becomes my friend…</p>
<p>My middle-aged brother is a manager at a large company. He responds to my emails when he’s in a meeting. So maybe these students are learning a skill they can use in their careers. :)</p>