Faculty Divided on In-Class Laptop Use

E-books, online textbooks and computer-based note-taking programs are growing in number and popularity, but faculty at the College remain divided over the use of computers in classrooms, opting for course-by-course policies instead of department-wide regulations.

While a lack of cohesion among professors’ attitudes regarding computers makes the development of a department or College-wide rule on computer use unlikely, students and faculty alike have found themselves debating the pros and cons of both banning and allowing computers in class.

A study by Stanford University sociology professor and psychologist Dr. Clifford Nass revealed that not only does digital multi-tasking waste more time, but it also results in a concentration and creativity deficit, regardless of how good one claims to be at multitasking.

Professor of American Studies and English and American Literatures Michael Newbury does not employ a singular laptop policy in his classes, but rather employs “class and context-specific practices designed to maximize constructive engagement with and for students,” considering project-oriented learning with laptops as an example of successful and useful in-class computer use, while remaining wary of laptops in larger lectures and conversations.

“There is an increasing amount of research suggesting that in large classes, students with computers simply cannot stop themselves from dividing their attention,” Newbury wrote in an email. “In addition, the research suggests that laptops in the class distract not just the people using them, but others in the class. It’s a bit like having a TV in a room. People look at it and hear it, whether or not they want to.”

Such distractions led Assistant Professor of Political Science Amy Yuen to ban computers in her lecture classes, especially after receiving feedback from students revealing problematic in-class computer habits.

“I used to allow them in lecture because my thinking was, ‘You’re adults, you can decide whether you’re going to show up to class or whether you’re going to goof off in lecture or not’,” she said. “But it was when I started getting remarks on course evaluations about how distracting computers were to other students that I decided to do something about it.”

Assistant Professor of American Studies Holly Allen has allowed laptops in larger courses so long as students remain undistracted, but is considering discouraging laptop use due to frequent rule violations and increasingly distracted lecture halls.

“I may also ask students who choose to use laptops to sign a contract declaring that they will not engage in non-class computer activity,” Allen wrote in an email. “However, I do not intend to eliminate all student laptop use.”

Students, too, have found themselves conflicted over in-class computer use.

“I cannot keep up with a long lecture if I don’t have my computer in class,” said Julia Rossen ’16. “I understand why some professors would ban computers, but I find that being able to type quickly makes it easier to get the most out of each class. Also, having my computer available gives me quick access to supplementary information if I need it.”

Others, however, prefer to take notes by hand, opting to forgo in-class computer use entirely.

“I feel like writing things down by hand keeps me grounded and attentive to what’s happening in the class,” said Cole Bortz ’17, adding that he retains information more easily when writing by hand.

Most peer institutions allow or restrict laptop use on a course-by-course basis, determined only by the professor. Amherst College, however, used to employ a very strict in-class computer policy, allowing only those with permission from the Director of Student Disability Services to use laptops in class. As computers have become more integral and mainstream teaching tools, the policy has grown more relaxed. Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. installed an on/off switch for Internet connections in classrooms, thereby allowing professors to permit laptop use during classes while limiting distractions.

Both Allen and Newbury stated that any sort of department or campus-wide policy on in-class computer use would be unlikely due to the wide range of views and current policies regarding laptop use.

“There is no uniform answer here,” Newbury wrote. “It will depend on what’s meant to happen in the classroom and the particular needs of individuals. So, the idea that all students would have laptops in all classrooms seems misguided … but the utter elimination of them from every context is probably misguided, too.”