Are They Taking Notes?

My students are increasingly bringing their laptops to class to take notes. I'm cool with that. Occasionally, I'll forget a number or a name, and a student will quickly google it for me. They say that they can take notes faster and search for key words in their notes.

However, I do get a bit suspicious when I see twenty or so kids with their faces glued to their monitors, instead of gazing at the wonder that is me. I can't see what's on their screens. Are they really taking notes or are they looking at porn?

Comments

[Wendy]

I don't allow laptops in my classes. They are 1. Facebooking or 2. playing solitaire or poker. Either way, they're not paying attention to me, and that violates my First Commandment of the classroom, which is that I am the most interesting thing in the classroom. (Note: I don't really think I am the most interesting thing in the classroom, but it serves a purpose when I need to rein them in from side discussions. I don't lecture, per se, but run a discussion-based classroom, so this needs to be done from time to time.)

Have you seen this?

[Libby]

I'm with Wendy. I may be naive, but I don't think it's porn but facebook. And I know they think they can split their attention, but I don't agree. I don't allow knitting in class, either (that was actually an issue last year, to my surprise).

Sometimes, though, I have a student with a disability who's allowed to have a laptop--and then everyone else wants one, too.

[Wendy]

I can't imagine wanting to look at porn with other people around. Especially if I were 18.

Our special needs (disability accommodations) advisors have never sent me a student with a laptop accommodation. There is an accommodation where instructors are supposed to provide copies of our notes. I like to think they're looking out for us by discouraging the laptop accommodation unless absolutely necessary.

[Z*lda]

I recently completed a community college program as a nontraditional students and observed younger people with laptops in classrooms during lectures who were definitely NOT taking notes. I think the secret is to walk around during lectures. Once you get within view range of their monitors, if you notice a lot of sudden motions to close laptops or escape to a "boss" screen, they were tuning you out. Be aware that the other students are all too aware of which students are note-taking and which are surfing or gaming.

[Lisa V]

We use laptops during board meetings now to cut down on paper. There are only 20 of us in the room. BUT I have to admit when discussions get boring, or they are reading the financial report, I will log on and check my work email.

I'm a grown up with the former board president sitting next me. If I were in school, I would maybe here half of what you say. I would be distracted by the possiblity of finding something more interesting than you in the boring parts. Not that YOU ever have a boring second of class.

[Doug K]

surely this will resolve itself at exam time ? If they haven't already figured out that attention is required in class, they will soon..

[Janice]

They're on facebook, yup. That said, I let my students use their laptops in class. I wander about, up and down the aisles, whenever I can (one classroom I teach in is so large and doesn't provide a lapel microphone that I'm tethered to the front desk).

I find that lobbing out direct questions or asking students to summarize themes we've covered so far help to keep them on their toes. As an added bonus, that interaction also deals with the temptation to turn the class into a lecture snoozefest.

[Timothy Burke]

In some cases, they're both taking notes and looking at email, Facebook, etc.

Continuous partial attention, as the phrase goes.

Ask direct questions of specific individuals if you want to make the point about laptops. I think a blanket ban catches the people who are in fact taking notes, who are googling things you're talking about for their own understanding, or the people who can handle continuous partial attention. If they can look at Facebook but also learn from me and participate in class discussion knowledgably, why should I care?

[luci]

About half are chatting with friends. Maybe more.

Especially if you provide handouts of your notes, I highly doubt they are typing what you are saying. Ask a TA to sit in the back of the class for one day. My experience was at a middle-tier school, so YMMV.

And personally, as a grad student, the sound of the typing is distracting. But maybe that's my problem.

[Maia]

Facebook, Gmail, IM, Wikipedia. That's what my peers were looking at in my MA classes. Wikipedia is often used to fuel show-offy questions, but sometimes to confirm or provide details of a point being discussed. Personally, I'm an old-fashioned pen and notebook kind of gal. If I were teaching a class, I would not ban notebooks, but perhaps use some kind of device to scramble the classroom wireless.

[Allison]

OF COURSE THEY'RE NOT TAKING NOTES!!!!

Laura, you're smarter than that. My husband the professor has shut down access in his classroom. To quote him, "I'm a great lecturer, but even I can't compete with YouTube."

Also, he provides his lectures on the web for his students, so they have no reason to be typing....

[Ivana]

I read crookedtimber.org and I'm temping currently and there's a lull in traffic so I'm skimming his links. First, I'm a student currently and I don't understand why, if the student is paying for the class, teacher's care whether or not we are paying attention. Unless they are being disruptive or encouraging students away from their studies and in any other way not letting fellow peers get the most for their money, they need to be stopped. I do not believe many students would take advantage of the more relaxed time, studious time even. To go on a tangent, when my mother wanted me to go to church despite my not lack of faith she suggested I use the time for reflection not necessarily praying. So why can't a student use the time for quiet, structured education? Secondly, there are now sillicon valley companies banning the use of laptops(! doesn't that cut into profits?) and lastly, I just read an article I believe on lifehacker.com that suggested multi-tasking (such as checking e-mail while listening to a lecture on old administrations) actually helps develop life skills (you know those things I'm supposed to be learning along with what Socrates said about the world. Particularly advantageous on the mention of wikipedia's utility, I should say that in an age of co-op, a laptop is the best thing for your classrooms.

[Amy P]

I believe there was a recent study saying that multi-tasking cuts down on effectiveness. It only seems like you're getting more done.