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January 11, 2010
More law schools experiment with laptop bans
U. of Chicago already bans them in the classroom. At Villanova, although the administration has not implemented a school-wide ban, several profs prohibit them from the classroom. And at Albany, the administration is letting students keep their laptops but is turning off wireless internet access on a trial basis. Here's the statement from the Albany administration to students:
In December, Dean Guernsey surveyed the faculty and found that there was a consensus that laptops and access to the Internet has become a distraction or hindrance to student engagement in the classroom and that wireless Internet access should be shut down in the classrooms during class time, if possible. ITS has been working over the break to assess whether it is possible to shut down wireless access in the classrooms without disrupting access in other parts of the building. They have concluded it is. Therefore, we are setting up a four-week trial period in which wireless Internet access is shut down in the classrooms from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting Tuesday, January 19 (no Monday classes because of MLK Day). This will not impact access to the Internet outside the classrooms.
For those faculty members who use the wireless network as a teaching tool, ITS will have the ability to turn on access during their class time on an automated basis, when requested by the faculty member.
At the end of the four-week trial period, we will evaluate the results and determine, with your input, whether we should continue the program. Thank you!
This story is courtesy of Above the Law - where you can read more about these new policies as well as student reaction to them.
(jbl)
January 11, 2010 | Permalink
Comments
That is unfortunate but not surprising - from my seat in class it seems that Facebook and Solitaire were the most popular tools for taking notes during class. Eliminating laptops altogether, however, punishes both offenders and non-offenders alike. Used diligently, a laptop in class can be a very effective way of capturing the essence of the lesson, quickly finding the notes you'd made earlier, etc.
The best way to foster participation (imho) is the much-feared Socratic method. There's nothing like the fear of being called on at random to discuss a case to foster doing the work before class.
On the other hand, if someone wants to pay $30,000 a year to play solitaire in class, that's to their own detriment. Their more diligent classmates will remember that when their firms are looking for associates.
Posted by: attorney ron | Jan 12, 2010 9:50:41 AM
