STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hermes

Law Professor Bans Laptops in Class

Hermes

I know I didn't pay as much attention as I could have when I was getting my M.B.A. I was too busy IMing other people in the class, posting on ST, or ebaying...

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

my first year torts prof. did this on the first day. he made everyone put away their notepads/laptops whatever because he wanted us to listen and analyze as opposed to just write down what he was saying, i remember him saying this isn't stenography school, it's law school. i think he just did it to prove a point that day though because after that i don't remember it being an issue. i was never a big note taker so i never really cared but i think it's funny that some student is threatening to transfer to another school just because one teacher said he has to take notes the old fashioned way.

JackieO527 · Dooney & Bourke

Yes you can write quicker with a lab top but I know I absorb more by listening and handwriting what the professor has to say...I don't see a big deal of the professor doing this!

uesgirl · BCBG

Wow-- that's probably actually a really good idea. But I'm sure it will make some people who make outlines out of their notes VERY angry.

I stopped bringing my laptop after 1L year because I was wasting too much time in class playing games rather than paying attention (this was in the dark ages when my school didn't have wireless in the classrooms). So I think I would have definitely benefitted from a ban! (Of course, I just did crossword puzzles instead afterwards).

It was also very distracting to watch other people playing games/surfing the net. so I can see where the profs are coming from.

laken1 · Hermes

uesgirl wrote:

(this was in the dark ages when my school didn't have wireless in the classrooms)\

LOL - Now I know I'm old because when I read this my first thought was "how do they have internet access in the CLASSROOM" duh. But i finished college in 1995 so I guess I am old...

Irene · Dooney & Bourke

That sucks. I take my notes on my laptop, mostly because it keeps me more organized. I have the worst handwriting and most of the time I cannot read my own handwritten notes. I am only an undergrad, but most of my classes have at least 10 students taking laptop notes.

What's the point of having a wireless campus if you cannot use it?

-- Edited by Irene at 14:42, 2006-03-30

blink · Coach

Call me old fashioned, but I totally agree with this professor. It depends on the class and the way the professor lectures and I believe it is up to the professor how he wants his class to participate/listen/take notes. I can't believe that student is petitioning it, how lazy....and how sad that he doesn't know how to take organized notes. Since when did students begin relying on typed format as the only standard for organization and ability to write complete notes anyway? Guess he doesn't abbreviate.

And I know this isn't across the board, but when I took a couple classes last Fall, those who did bring laptops to class were totally goofing off, watching a program, getting on myspace.com, or playing a game.

trixie · Kenneth Cole

I'm surprised that this hasn't happened at more law schools, or that we haven't heard of it before.

Honestly, I'm from the mindset of, if you're paying for school, then you should be able to take notes however you like in class. If you're playing games, surfing the web, etc on your computer - and not paying attention - then that's your loss, financially and academically. As long as you're not a distraction to those around you, I don't care what you do on your own computer. Why punish those who are really using their computers to take notes?? I know I can type notes much faster than I can write them.

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

I can see both sides. Honestly, it must be awful for profs to look out across a sea of faces paying no attention whatsoever. And I am often one of those faces. But, well, I pay attention in the classes where the prof is paying attention. A lot of them just go through the motions so they can get back to research and being published. They don't consider themselves teachers at all. Oh, and for the record, the worst semester of grades happened when I knocked myself out to take notes in class, do the reading every day and particiipate. The actual exams all had very little to do with what we'd talked about in class - the people who'd paid no attention and just dumped emmanuels or whatever study aid in the exam did way better. So if there's no reward and the profs don't care, then I'm not that motivated to be more than nominally polite. Of course, this prof really does care, or at least he's willing to make a big power move over it (which is not exactly the same thing) so maybe he deserves some attention. You know what, who cares. Profs have a tendency to be rude, overbearing power tripping jerks, and the students aren't much better. So we all deserve eachother.

Ps - I just talked in class 15 minutes ago, back when I was paying attention, and the prof said I was wrong. Then another person raised her hand and gave the same argument. So, you know, there are some benefits to paying a little bit of attention...

Kari · Dooney & Bourke

We have had a few law professors do this...and it causes a huge uproar. I have only taken my laptop to 4 of my law school classes...all 4 of them were the worst classes ever...so boring! I think it should be up to the professor to be able to make up rules for their classrooms.

I also think they did it because until this year, we had to handwrite our exams...and no one could ever read them because no one ever practiced writing anymore. They said that if students had to write all year they might write more legibly on the exams.

However, that argument doesn't fly now because we can type our exams on laptops now...we can even take the bar exam on laptops now.

I do think that the class rooms should not have wireless access. It is just too distracting. And yes, sometimes the students need to be protected from themselves.

Eurodaisy · Dooney & Bourke

I actually go to this law school (Univ. of Memphis) and think it's hilarious that one little classroom policy has made national news! Prof. Entman is also a really good professor and very well respected. I agree that her rule is reasonable and justified.

Maddie · Coach

My dad actually taught law school for a few quarters a couple years ago and he said it was endlessly annoying to teach to people who obviously weren't paying attention because they were talking online. He also taught tax law so a lot of his lectures had formulas and tables and graphs stuff that he thought would be a lot harder to get into a computer than just write on a notepad.

I know that when I have to make presentations and you can tell people are doing something else it's really distracting. And I agree with my dad, I think it would be harder for me to take notes on a computer. I draw arrows and arrange stuff in weird columns that I just couldn't do on a lap top. At my school (small liberal arts) almost no one uses lap tops to take notes. I've been here wo years and I think I've only ever seen two people do it.

relrel · Marc Jacobs

i absolutely love it when one of my professors make a point to say something about laptops and using them during class. you know damned well you ain't listening or paying attention...you are checking your email and whatever other crap you feel like doing. kids who play on thier laptops piss me off. the way i see it is if you're not gonna pay attention then you might as well not come to class. and if you're gonna take that route of not paying attention, why the hell are you paying almost $25,000 a year? come on. my epi prof last quarter actually threw a kid out of class because he simply wasn't paying any attention and wasn't even trying to pay attention. that was one of the best days of my life.

i understand the whole argument about taking notes on laptops and i don't begrudge anybody that. however, i don't think that's what is truly going on in most cases. it's extremely distracting not only to the professor trying to lecture but to students around the individual as well.

blubirde · Chanel

I didn't take notes on my laptop in law school. I could have and a lot of students did but I, frankly, just didn't want to deal with the hassle. That said, I paid as little attention as the laptop students did in the classes where I didn't have to pay attention.

I think profs should work harder to make their lectures viable and essential to the class. If I couldn't get most or all of my information needed for the final from the book and outlines, I probably would have payed more attention. As it was, they didn't bother being good teachers so I didn't bother being a good student.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

hmmm, I actually paid better attention when I took notes on my laptop! When I used a notebook, I would almost always end up doodling in the margins, but whwn I typed my notes i would pay more attention so that I could put them into outline form/ go back and add thoughts to a previous point, etc.