Laptop in class

Subin Lee



Although many researchers have shown that laptop is a great learning tool for class note takings, some professors are banning in-class laptop usage. Specifically, in-class laptop use not only can disturb one from focusing the lecture, but also can cause negative effect on the classroom environments.

While in-class laptop use can help students to reorganize class notes neater and access the internet for quick research during the class, it also can distract student from concentrating on the lecture. Laptop allows students to access unlimited online resources such as instant messenger, games, blogs, and other mediums. According to David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., “Laptops are often an attractive nuisance." Students can access to the online resources in unrelated purpose to the lecture and mostly they are more interesting than the class lecture. Hence, laptop usage is not a good solution for individual students to take class notes during the lecture.

In class laptop use also disturbs the classroom atmosphere. Many professors feel that typing sounds create noise making hard for them to focus. Moreover if all the students are looking into the laptop screen and not focusing on the lecture, professors cannot be as enthusiastic in teaching as they were when all the students are watching the lecture. Because of some students using the laptop for inappropriate purpose during the lecture, the whole classroom atmosphere can be distracted and thus have negative effects on the other classmates.

Some professors control the in-class laptop uses. They know the advantages and disadvantages of the laptop use, so they can manage students to use laptop in class appropriately. For example, during the lecture they can ask students to shut down the laptop for the half of class while letting them to use it in group discussion when they actually have to participate in class activities.
The best way is to find which one works best for you. If one can use laptop and still focus on the lecture then this would not be the problem. However, if one is easily distracted by the laptop then paper note taking can be more effective.