Laptop PCs in the classroom?!

[tonykuphaldt]

The title probably says it all . . . I'm actually quite divided on this issue myself. On one hand, there are so many engaging and beneficial things you can do with laptops in the classroom, and for some of my students' activities (e.g. PLC programming) they are essential. On the other hand, I have yet to see anything as powerfully distracting as a laptop computer with wireless internet connectivity -- it's like having cable TV, a stereo system, and a video game console all wrapped up in one device, compact and discreet.

If you ban them outright, you lose all the latent educational potential. If you allow them, MOST students inevitably use them for decidedly non-educational purposes (even when encouraged to do otherwise). I run a very interactive classroom environment, and I am tired of calling on students to join a discussion, only to have them look up from their laptop screens and say, "Huh?" I can only imagine how bad things would be if I just lectured all the time.

And even those students who can (at least sometimes) multi-task on their laptops make me wonder: how detrimental is it to the students sitting next to them, distracted by the images on the screen? Can it be a good thing to allow students to choose to break away from the task at hand any time they feel like it, for some quick entertainment? This does not reflect the policies of any workplace I've ever been at!

One thought I've had is to have students turn their laptop screens toward me so I can see what they are doing with them, but this is awkward at best. I think InSight is an awesome solution for instructors and would address all my concerns (as well as add true educational benefit), but so far it works only with wired PCs, not wireless laptops.

I would truly appreciate any input!

[jeff4082]

Hi Tony.

This is easy.

"Please Shutdown, Suspend or Hibernate your computers now." "I will let you know when you may log back in."

(~!|

[tonykuphaldt]

I've asked all students to close their laptops for certain sections of the class time, namely when we're having an all-student discussion and I need everyone to participate. The problem just re-appears when they open them back up for small-group work. Some students will use their laptops productively during these sessions, while most jump right back to YouTube, Facebook, email, etc.

The fundamental problem is that a laptop cannot be used ONLY as a learning tool -- the entertainment potential is intrinsic, and too seductive for many students to resist.

I've considered cutting off wireless internet access during class time. This would eliminate the vast majority of the distractive content on laptops, but it would also eliminate a substantial percentage of the educational content. I have also considered asking students to step out of class to use a computer, just as I ask them to step out of class to use a cell phone. This would make productive use of a laptop awkward, though.

[tonykuphaldt]

A law professor who teaches using Socratic method (and thus expects an engaged classroom) has gone to the extreme of banning all laptops from his class -- with positive results. His op-ed and NPR interview are both very interesting:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/06/AR2...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9501481

One potential solution I've just thought of to allow students to use their computers to contribute to the classroom discussion is to require they bring any internet content to the class on flash drive or email it to me, so I can load and display it on the instructor podium PC. If something comes up in class that they really want to research on the web, they can do so after class (or during break) and give it to me when class resumes. Since all the materials we use in discussion are available to students before they arrive, they will have plenty of opportunity for preparatory research.

Another idea is to restructure the class time to have more (short) personal breaks, where students are free to do whatever they wish, including bathroom trips, cell phone calls, text messaging, surfing, etc. The rest of the class time can then be devoted to intense engagement where all these distractions are forbidden.

[Dawn Hawley]

I think if you express your concerns & expectations about laptops in class up front, it is then up to the student to manage (or mis-manage) his or her own behavior. Not paying attention when something important is going on has built-in consequences, and adult students should be able and expected to handle that. Students who are distracted by another classmate should feel empowered to move or speak up. To me (and I'm not responsible for a class, so easy for me to say!!), monitoring or controlling the devices seems more appropriate for young students, but not for adults.

[tonykuphaldt]

The expectations are there, both in the syllabus (as classroom policy) and through repeated verbal reminders. If by built-in consequences you mean a lower grade on the next exam, it's a battle between immediate gratification and long(er)-term success, and immediate gratification usually wins the day.

Other students who find laptops distracting are reluctant to police their classmates' behavior. They will speak up -- but only when their frustration has reached a boiling point. The reason I've brought up the issue for discussion is that the distractive power of laptops far exceeds any other distraction I've ever encountered in the classroom. In the past if students were distracting others with conversation or eating food or whatever, all it took was a polite reminder from myself or a classmate to stop the behavior. Now with laptops, a gentle reminder is not enough: the offending students often go right back to the same behavior within the span of the same class period.

Of course, I do have the right to excuse these students from class. However, in my ten years of teaching at BTC I've only had to excuse a mere handful of students from class over behavioral issues, and now I'm facing having to do this with several students a day!!! It's like nothing I've ever seen.

Right now I'm considering adding a graded quiz to the end of every class session re-capping what we've discussed, to increase the level of accountability for students' engagement in class. This would make the consequences of distractions more immediate, perhaps enough to overcome the allure of immediate gratification of web surfing.

[Dan Beeson]

Tony,

I am done battling and over-thinking this subject. I do give ample break times and they are allowed to use their laptops at their seat during break and lunch. If they have a site that is relevant to the discussion they will ask if they can go there and I let them. Because of my "podium" design, I will often have them bring their laptop up and hook it to the projector so we all can see.

Out of 20 students I will likely have 8-10 bring laptops on a daily basis. For now my problems are solved 100%

[tonykuphaldt]

Hi Dan,

Let me see if I'm understanding you correctly: students can use laptops during classroom sessions only by individual permission, then those students will link up to your podium to share what they found. Otherwise, all laptop use is limited to break and lunch times? Sounds quite reasonable!

[Dan Beeson]

Exactly, but the use during class session to share what they found is rarely used, just an option.