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October 15, 2008
And the Best Reason to Stop Banning Laptops in the Classroom Is...
In a very thoughtful post, Amy Jarmon, Assistant Dean for Academic Success Programs at Texas Tech, observes that "the banning of laptops is vogue right now, but the consequences for students with disabilities (and different learning styles for that matter) are not always recognized." Read and consider circulating her Accommodations for ADD/ADHD and LD Students post on Law School Academic Support Blog.
For more on life's struggles, see Elyn R. Saks' memoir, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (2007). Associate Dean and Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at USC, Saks chronicles her life, legal education, and career battles with schizophrenia.
Jarmon and Saks' message is clear. Students are capable of high-level academic work but law profs and administrators must be sensitive to their desire to be like everyone else because they are reluctant to disclose their needs.
On banning laptops because they are a classroom distraction, I think Legal Blog Watch's Carolyn Elefant should have the last word:
I'm not quite sure how students who are distracted by laptops will have the ability to function in real world situations. These days, most lawyers take computers to court, to depositions and settlement conferences. If law students can't focus on the professor because a flashy computer screen (I'm assuming that students are required to silence the sound) or keyboarding noise bothers them, how are they going to manage in the real world?
See her post, Laptops in the Classroom Distract Non-Users More Than Users.
Isn't banning laptops in law school classrooms just a giant step backwards in the early 21st legal academy? [JH]
October 15, 2008 in Education Technology | Permalink
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Comments
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Posted by: Laptops | Nov 24, 2010 4:13:20 AM
In the discussion of banning laptops, I have rarely seen mention of anyone requiring students who use laptops to have the devices that obscure the computer screen from being viewed by anyone other than someone sitting directly in front of the computer. (I'm sure there is a technical name for that thing -- shows you how in the loop I am!)
Students DO surf during class -- gosh, I have even seen students surfing the web and checking email DURING BAR REVIEW CLASSES!!!
Having students use those screens would cut down on disractions for other students, but they also might encourage students who use them to surf even more.
I'm back where I started -- no solution.
Mark Wojcik
Posted by: Mark Wojcik | Oct 16, 2008 4:15:38 AM
