Classroom laptop policy uncertain
The growing presence of technology within the classroom has created a new-age conflict of interest that some faculty members solve by simply prohibiting its use. Teachers are free to set course rules on how students use cell phones and computers in the classroom and abuse of those rules may lead to direct consequences for students around them.
“I know there are some universities that have literally banned computers from classrooms,but here it is left to the teacher to decide,” said Veronica Ward, a professor of political science who does not allow computers in her undergraduate courses.
The student code of conduct, under section V-3, prohibits the use of computers “which interferes with or disrupts the work of another student, faculty member, or University official.”
Michael Lyons, political science professor, said he requires his students receive verbal consent from him before they use computers in his larger classes. Though he established this rule, he said it is regularly violated.
“When I walk by classrooms, particularly large lecture halls, typically I find that only a minority of the students are using their computers to take notes,” Lyons said.
While there is currently no movement among the teachers to remove computers or cell phones from lecture halls that he is aware of, Lyons said the use and abuse of technology is certainly something on the minds of the faculty and has been discussed before. He said the biggest temptations students face to violate the computer rules he set in his class are games and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Teachers aren’t the only ones that notice the distractions.
Justin Hewlett, junior in computer science, said that last semester he regularly brought a computer to class.
“Taking notes is how I justified it,” he said, “but mostly I just ended up on Facebook and e-mail.”
Now he relies on a simple pen and paper to avoid the distraction. Of the students in the classroom with computers, he said about half are using it to take notes. In fact, some of the teachers within the computer science department don’t allow computers to be out during lecture Hewlett said.
On campus, use of social media has become so ubiquitous that a small school in Pennsylvania recently made national news due to a week-long ban of social media on campus. The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania has made websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging programs inaccessible via campus computers for the duration of the week, an exercise that the school’s provost, Eric Darr, states is more academic than disciplinary.
Still, despite the many distractions that technology may introduce, computers and cell phones may provide an academic advantage to those that use them properly. Justin says that many computer science students bring their computers to class when there are in-class demonstrations so that they can participate.
“Computers are fantastic resources to have if they are properly used,” Lyons said. “Sometimes if my facts are hazy or when I’m guessing, a student can confirm that I’m right or wrong by running a search on their computers.”
He also acknowledged other advantages such as the ability take notes faster and incorporate them directly into course handouts and material, as well as organizing them into a search-able database.
These are advantages that students are willing to pay big bucks for, too. Aug. 23, the first day of USU Connections classes, a total of 110 13” MacBook Pros were purchased at the bookstore. At about $1,000 a unit that’s $110,000 spent in just one day by the incoming freshman class. And that’s only on one model of laptop.
Students aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits of computers. Lyons himself uses a computer and projector to show clips of campaign ads via you tube to his U.S. government class.
“I would be severely handicapped in my own teaching if I didn’t have access to a computer,” he said. He said this is part of the reason why he believes a campus-wide removal of computers would be “inappropriate.”
“Professors want to be free to teach in the style that they teach,” he said. “Computers have made things possible that weren’t only 5-10 years ago.”
– mike.burnham@aggiemail.usu.edu