Someone asked me this week whether lots of people use computers in class, and how that affects the class environment. A few observations:
* Yes, most people use computers to "take notes" during class. [Assuming, of course, that the professor allows computers...at least here, professors have the option to forbid use of computers in class. Most don't care.] I'd say maybe 90% of students use computers...maybe 95%? A few holdouts take notes in old-school notebooks. One aspiring academic writes with fountain pens in leather-bound journals, which is just adorable and very Yale.
* As you might expect, "taking notes" with a computer can mean a lot more than just writing down what's being said in class. The best multitaskers among us usually have their notes, a handful of internet tabs, and at least two or three gchat conversations going on at the same time. Sometimes I throw a spreadsheet or a reading for another class into the mix (in one class in particular each semester so far, distractions have been sorely needed).
Of course, it might be the case that people don't concentrate as much/tune out the conversation more often when they're focused on their screen rather than what's going on in class and sometimes that puts you at risk of an embarrassingly out-of-the-blue cold calling. Honestly, it's usually a risk I'm willing to face head-on. If I didn't do *something* else during class, I'd probably go insane, even in my most engaging courses that I love. Contracts last semester was WAY more fun when 50% of our class was simultaneously in a gchatroom, commenting on what was being said in class - very meta.
There are obviously trade-offs, and certainly some things can go wrong (as is always the case with technology). So, a few things to be mindful of - for some reason, they all have to do with gchat:
* It's generally not a good idea to video chat (even silently) w/ your significant other during class, especially if you're not sitting in the back row. Even if you're just taking/sending static pictures of yourselves with your build in iCam, it's a little (or a lot?) weird.
* Don't forget to turn off the sound for your IMs. You don't want to be the one to make it obvious to the professor that nobody's paying full attention.
* When the (online) conversation gets really good/funny, be mindful of the conversation that's going on in person...you don't want to crack a smile when the discussion has turned to abortion, rape, civil rights abuses, or dying horrible deaths.
* Be careful about leaving your gchat convos up on your screen during break, or when a particularly leery neighbor is perched nearby. I had a terribly awkward incident last week (the content of which I won't reveal here, because it's just so ridiculous) that really drove home this lesson. [In other words, do as I say, not as I do...]
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3 comments:
I just had to comment on this. When I was at HLS many years ago, my friend used to take notes just like Elle Woods (cute, tiny, pink notebooks, pen with maribou, the whole thing.)
This was a little bit before the movie came out, when we saw that scene we cracked up.
You mentioned leaving a chat up on screen. Do they allow Wifi in classrooms now? I was 50-50 paper-laptop, but if there had been wifi in class, I would have been 100% paper.
Anonymous, that's so funny! I can't imagine the maribou really going over well these days... :)
Yes, we have wifi enabled throughout the school. (I *think* that's the same at HLS, but I know Chicago has moved to/has blocked wifi in their law school.) Some people are well-disciplined and turn off their internet while in class, but I'm a junkie.
(Same Anonymous as above.) Had there been wifi in class when I was there, I would have been placed on academic probation. But now they got rid of grades, so maybe it wouldn't have been that bad.
You young whippersnappers have no idea how lucky y'all are with the no grades!
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