Classroom Laptops Confound Professors

By Mark Hoerrner

While some students used to sleep in class, they now check box scores, read e-mail or shop online while sitting through less-than-riveting lectures. Laptop computers paired with a movement to make campuses across the U.S. wireless have resulted in the ability of students to completely tune out of class.

And it’s raising the ire of more than one university professor.

At DePaul University, for example, some faculty have begun to include laptop policies in class that outline what the computers can be used for and what the penalties are if students are caught using laptops for less than academic purposes.

Jon Decker, a law professor at DePaul, told the Chicago Tribune that he was not surprised students were doing other things in his class than absorbing his criminal procedures lecture.

"They are adults and in some respects, I feel like if they are not there, or not paying attention to what is going on and shopping for shoes or whatever the case may be, it's their loss," he told Jodi S. Cohen of the Tribune.

Other professors are infuriated by students who misuse the laptops in class, but consider taking little recourse despite their syllabi specifying that students may have laptops banned from class. Professors would rather the students have the laptops for legitimate purposes rather than see a wireless ban.

According to University of Illinois law Professor Nina Tarr feels that faculty should engage their students over worrying about policing internet use. She also said removing wireless access would not be the deterrent necessary to change behavior.

"They could play cards or read things they've downloaded," she said in the Tribune. "The reality is that if you are teaching and looking at students, you can tell if they are doing what you're doing or something else."

The battle over classroom participation is not a new one. The classroom policies of a law professor at the University of Memphis gained national attention when she forbade students in her civil procedures class to bring laptops.

""The wall of vertical screens keeps me from seeing many of your faces, even those of some students who are only neighbors of a laptop," Professor June Entman wrote in an email to students outlining her policy. "The wall hampers the flow of discussion between me and the class and among the students. Also, by giving students a sense of anonymity, many are encouraged to feel that they are present merely to listen in."

Entman was faced with a petition that derided the policy and students even filed a complaint with the American Bar Association, according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Students claimed that the barring of laptops was an attack on a modern form of education. The complaint was dismissed, but caught the attention of web pundits and newspapers.

Entman fired off a statement to the Chronicle to explain her move, noting that many professors ban laptops.

"During [the] brouhaha about the matter," she stated in a letter to the Chronicle, "I heard from law professors at Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas, Widener, and Pace who have also banned laptops for much the same reasons. One had done so three years ago

Some colleges, however, are using technology against technology. Using a unique system at Bentley College, administrators put a "kill switch" in place that allows faculty to temporarily disable wireless networks within a certain range.

"Every time I give a tour, it clicks, and people say, 'Oh, my God, that's exactly what we need,'" says Phillip G. Knutel, director of academic technology, library, and research services told the Chronicle. "It became obvious when the Internet became more popular in the mid-90s, we had to figure out a way to rein it in."

The debate continues, however, across the nation with how to effectively deal with emerging technology in the classroom. Administrators at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. had the opportunity to install a kill switch but decided against it, preferring to look at the positives gained from integrating a multi-tasking learning structure. The university authored a technology policy that suggested students should be able to use technology within the classroom for subject clarity or to utilize additional learning resources.

"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, in the Chronicle. "Both are draconian solutions to a problem that requires something a bit more diplomatic."