Learning Devices

Yesterday this appeared on my Facebook feed and it's about the University of Ottawa considering a proposal which is a ban on electronic devices in the classroom such as laptops and smartphones and other related devices. This comes from a professor saying that it's distracting.

I have brought my laptop to class many times and from the classes I've been to I don't think any of the profs were bothered by it. Maybe some of them are but not as vocal as the prof mentioned in the news report.

Some find laptops help them learn. The advantage to having a laptop is it saves paper. If the instructor posts notes online there's no need to print them (and for some no need to attend the lecture but you should go once in a while if you're that kind of student). The laptop is also useful in taking notes.

For the phones (whether they're the newest iphones or the basic phones) they're useful if let's say someone is waiting for the doctor to call with some good or bad news, or some other emergency. There are two instances in which I remember accessing the internet through a smartphone (1 instance was technically an ipod touch) was useful in class. The most recent one was someone reading out a list of people who had to do something during the instructor's office hours when he couldn't remember who he has scheduled during that time. The other instance was someone looking up the definition of a word on his ipod touch.

But are they a distraction? They can be, but it's not something that should be banned.

From a teacher perspective they want to make sure the students are actually learning something, even though we are adults and are responsible for doing whatever assignments and showing up to class. Depending on the acoustics of the room there may be some instructors that dislike the sound of keyboards click-clacking. And yes, instructors may be able to tell when you're texting or not

From a student perspective, I have brought my laptop to class many times and I do go on Facebook and other websites. I have brought my laptop to work on other assignments for other classes. I have also seen other students with laptops in class and I remember seeing someone watch anime. If you can watch the video the comes with the article, one student mentions seeing someone watching porn on their laptop as wells as someone shoe shopping. Call these distractions yes but in my opinion students get bored. There are days when you're in class and the instructor just drags on so might as well see what your friends are doing on Facebook, watch something on YouTube, or read the latest gossip posted by a blogger.

I think there should be a compromising solution to this rather than an outright ban. If a certain instructor doesn't want technology in the classroom that's up to the instructor but it shouldn't be campus wide. It's understandable on test and exam days but on regular lesson days it shouldn't be a problem. Even if there is no net service in the classroom there are other ways to distract oneself with the laptop.