The Official KACA Blog

A recent article “The greatest generation (of networks)” in WSJ addressed the issue of students use of social networking sites and text messaging. Here is a summary.

Because so many people in their teens and early 20s are in a constant whir of socializing-accessible to each other every minute of the day via cellphone, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites-there are a host of new questions that need to be addressed in schools, in the workplace and at home. Chief among them: How much work can “hyper-socializing” students or employees really accomplish if they are holding multiple conversations with friends via text-messaging, or are obsessively checking Facebook? Some argue they can accomplish a great deal.

Many professors are fed up with students surfing the Web and hiding behind laptop screens. Some of you may want to adopt a policy to restrict the use of technology in classrooms. However, many students will dislike such a restriction.

Here are some excerpts of discussions related to the use of laptop in classrooms. [The Fight for Classroom Attention: Professor vs. Laptop]

Cons of banning laptops in classrooms:

• Students may argue that people raised in the era of multitasking can balance Internet use and classroom participation.
• “The laptop isn’t the problem,” says Dan Weiss, associate director of instructional technology at Loyola Marymount University’s law school, in Los Angeles. “It’s teachers who refuse to engage students well enough and who don’t set proper boundaries as to what is and isn’t acceptable behavior in their classroom.”
• “I’d say banning laptops or shutting off wireless on demand is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” says Brian D. Voss, chief information officer at the university. “Both are draconian solutions to a problem that requires something a bit more diplomatic.
• “I actually think taking notes on laptops is a great idea if you’re a student because you have it in a form that’s so easy to work with,” says E. William Wischusen.
• “When you get bored in class, you zone out,” said Kilgannon, 21. “So, if anything, my laptop helps me do better, because I pay attention more to make sure I don’t miss anything.” [Some colleges crack down on laptop use in classroom]
• “People in this school, they are not high school kids who need to be reminded what is right and what is wrong,” a Harvard student said.[Some colleges crack down on laptop use in classroom]

Pros of banning students using laptops in classrooms: The devices are just too much of a temptation. Students cannot learn if they are checking e-mail and instant messaging pals in class during lectures.

Here are some strategies professors can adopt without banning the use of the laptop in classrooms:

• Ask laptop users to sit in the front row so that the professors can glance down occasionally to see what is on the students’ screens.
• “classroom network control system”: At Bentley, about half of the professors use the software that allows them to disable Internet access in class, said Phillip G. Knutel, director of academic technology and a professor of business information at Bentley. `The faculty love it.” [Some colleges crack down on laptop use in classroom]