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Comments, Laptops in Class
todd [decorative spacer] May 11, 2006 [decorative spacer] 9:44 PM

Apologies for the comments not working. I'm looking into it; I need to talk to Adam about getting access to the server.

Meanwhile, a link for Monica, because she's the only person I know who does this.

This school year, the University of Michigan Law School became the latest graduate school to block wireless Internet access to students in class, joining law schools at UCLA and the University of Virginia.

[...]

"When you focus primarily on transcribing everything said, you are not making good use of the class as a practice opportunity," she wrote in an e-mail to her law students, explaining her decision to ban laptops.

See. I knew it. This is why I never took notes as an undergraduate. Of course, Professor Hawks disagrees:

It seems to me there is an unrecognized selection effect here. Aren't the students who take notes using laptops in graduate schools very likely to be the same few who did so as undergraduates? Except now they are many because they got admitted?
Or they're not awesome enough to remember everything the first time. Law schools should only want awesome students.

Comments:
testing

Posted by todd. at May 12, 2006 10:28 AM
Man, I hate laptops in class. tap-a-tap-tap-a-tap.....Worst thing ever.

Posted by Big Tymer at May 12, 2006 11:50 AM
Although most law school students do, I have never really typed notes on my laptop in class. I took handwritten notes on my Tablet PC until that part stopped working, and after that I've been taking notes in pencil and paper.

I do type notes in Bar Review courses, however, because they're a lot denser, and I don't have time to go back through them and combine (outline) everything.

I don't know how I feel about banning laptops from class. I mean, yeah, time management is up to the student. But I like classes more when people are participating, and they're less likely to do so when they're distracted.

Northeastern doesn't have wireless in our classrooms, and I think it's served us well. Compared to other schools, that seems backward, but I think it really makes a difference in how many people are paying attention. People still play solitaire and snood and stuff, but I think the internet would be a lot bigger distraction.

Posted by monica at May 12, 2006 5:09 PM
on the flip side, the internet gets you instant answers when your professor wings it and can't get all the details straight. but our professors are so well-paid that they'd never dream of doing that, right? right??

Posted by jurvis at May 12, 2006 10:45 PM
Luddites...

Posted by len at May 13, 2006 4:08 AM

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