College Laptop Trouble

Like many college students, I use my computer to record notes in classes. It saves paper, and is an efficient and orderly way to keep notes– as opposed to digging through composition books and paper that was at one time a page trying to decipher my own, admittedly poor, handwriting.

Several times in classes I’ve received accusatory looks from teachers, and sometimes embarrassing verbal reprimands for using a laptop. In a recent exchange, we were theorizing the influence of a particular public policy, and I opened a powerpoint presentation about the policy. As soon as the dock icon started bouncing on my MacBook, the discussion was interrupted and I was told not to check my e-mail in class.

I found this particular instance particularly annoying because of the assumptions made about me as a student and about my level of involvement and interest in the discussion. While I’m not a model student, I tend to contribute what I can to classes without sounding like I’m trying to impress the professor or other students with my level of involvement. Even though I was active in class participation, it was assumed that I was more interested in the latest postings on message boards or Daily Show clips on Youtube, simply because I was using a laptop.

Many professors seem to assume their students use laptops not to take notes or to find class relevant information, but to chat with their friends and play games. Which might be true of some students– who hasn’t seen someone subverting the value of their education by posting on Facebook about the unbelievable beer pong game they played the night before? But the point is, it’s the beer ponger’s education to subvert.

What students take away from a lecture is ultimately their decision, not the professors. While many professors assume the introduction of a laptop into the classroom introduces unnecessary distraction, it’s got very little to do with the device, and more to do with the student using it. I can find interesting ways to ignore the lecture without a computer– drawing epic surrealist composition book landscapes, secretly folding paper cranes, etc.– but typically I choose not to, just like when I use a laptop.

Most professors realize they cannot force feed students information: there is no choice but to trust students with their own education. There is no legitimate reason professors should limit laptops in the classroom (assuming the student isn’t blasting My Chemical Romance or exposing Fergie’s exposables on their desktop). What’s more, banning laptops means limiting academic freedom, in-class academic resources, and student-professor trust. Until professors “get with the times” they’re going to find tech-saavy students leaving them behind.