Some praise the inventions of the computer and internet as two of man's greatest achievements. Innovations that were once used responsibly, however, have become time-sucking distractions. Our modern-day addiction to technology is especially damaging in the classroom setting. The only effective way to prevent these irresponsible classroom distractions is for professors to ban them altogether.
I'll start with a brief illustration. Imagine taking a class whose subject material is rather dry and whose professor is lackluster. Now imagine the student next to you opens his laptop, pulls up Solitaire and plays for the entire class. This distraction poses a problem not only for the student playing a game on his laptop, but also for those around him.
Forget for a second the harm done to the student who chooses to entertain himself with distractions during class. The larger issue is that this student's actions divert the attention of those around him who are trying to focus on the lecture.
Playing a computer game is just one example. More commonly at Dartmouth you'll see students checking Facebook or BlitzMail during class. I've even seen students in class participating in blitz wars about the lecture or an attractive female in the room. While one may argue that these students certainly have the right to perform such unnecessary tasks during class, they must recognize that their actions are taking away from the in-class experiences of neighboring students.
What's more surprising is that these students seem oblivious to the impact that such actions have on their education. While I can sympathize with students who choose to use their computers for note-taking purposes, I fail to understand why some spend the majority of class time checking Blitz or reading The New York Times.
When I once questioned the student sitting next to me about his habit of playing computer games in class, his explanation, absurdly enough, was that doing so increased his focus. While students may simply be bored during class, I find the most logical explanation is that students believe they can effectively multitask. In today's high-speed world, we have become conditioned to doing many things at once. We walk and talk, drive and text, run on the treadmill and watch TV, study and listen to music. We are hooked on multitasking.
Unfortunately, several research studies point to the shortcomings of multitasking one such study by University of California, Santa Barbara and University of New Mexico professors finds that it is difficult, if not impossible, to learn new information while multitasking. If the research is correct, then lecture multitaskers are harming the classroom experience, not only for themselves but also for fellow students who are trying to focus on the professor's words. The question becomes: When will students recognize their folly?
Evidently, some professors have lost faith in their students' ability to focus. These professors no longer trust students to responsibly use their computers in class and outright ban the use of computers during class. While electronic note-takers may feel handicapped by this instruction, I have found the classroom experience to be much more positive with such mandates in place. All students are engaged and very few distractions take away from the academic environment.
But the burden of addressing this issue shouldn't fall on professors. Students who choose to act irresponsibly prevent other students from being able to take electronic notes when professors feel that they must intervene. Students should be vigilant enough to recognize the consequences of distracting computer use and must show self-restraint during class. Those new Facebook photo tags or blitzes will just have to wait until class is over.
At a College where Blitz claims more addicts than coffee, I'm pessimistic that students will change their behavior anytime soon. Until we discover a better way to engage students in class or students suddenly become more disciplined department chairs should encourage professors to ban computer use in classrooms and consequently improve the academic experience for the rest of us.
