Banning laptops in media classes without being a Luddite
A new media journalism professor in the U.S. has decided to ban laptops in some of his media classes.
Jeremy Littau says he loves technology, but the evidence is building that student test scores improve in classes where laptops are banned. He is also concerned about what he calls "the halo effect."
"When a student has a laptop open, invariably the cone of people next to and behind that student get caught up watching as well. The movie playing or the Facebook page on the screen can be a huge distraction to both those students and to me."
He outlines his new "soft ban" on his blog. Other J-profs may find his thoughtful arguments and approach worth following.
A new media journalism professor in the U.S. has decided to ban laptops in some of his media classes.
Jeremy Littau says he loves technology, but the evidence is building that student test scores improve in classes where laptops are banned. He is also concerned about what he calls "the halo effect."
"When a student has a laptop open, invariably the cone of people next to and behind that student get caught up watching as well. The movie playing or the Facebook page on the screen can be a huge distraction to both those students and to me."
He outlines his new "soft ban" on his blog. Other J-profs may find his thoughtful arguments and approach worth following.
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August 23, 2010
Thanks for the kind words and
Thanks for the kind words and for passing on the link.
August 24, 2010
When I taught a master’s
When I taught a master’s level journalism class, the open laptops were a problem. Only rarely were they used for note-taking, and I found that irksome and discourteous, on a par with students huddled in conversation while I was lecturing.
But these were adults, who were paying good money to be there, and if they wanted to squander the classroom experience, that was their business. As long as they understood that when it came to marking their work at semester’s end, I always factored in class participation, and the students immersed in email and YouTube might not fare so well.
It’s a lesson I hope they carried into the workplace: if you’re mind is elsewhere during the daily story meeting, people will notice.