law students and lawmakers share a pastime
It’s my understanding that more and more law professors are banning laptops in the classroom. I have one professor this semester who has done just that. Although I much prefer taking notes on my computer, where I can easily access any reading notes and/or case briefs I might have to go along with lecture material, I do understand why some are prohibiting the use of laptops during their lectures. Only two weeks into law school and I see the problem very clearly. Most of the people who sit in front of me are mature, responsible, attentive students (like me, of course) who just use the laptop for classroom functions.
A few, however, are not.
I’ve seen people playing all sorts of games. Sometimes people check their email or other news websites. By far the most annoying thing is the people who type notes back and forth to the person seated next to them in big, bold font so that everybody behind them can read speculation on whether Professor Contracts ever gets to go on a date, or how ugly someone else’s boyfriend is, or whether someone is having a hard time staying awake, etc.
Aren’t we supposed to be adults here?
This isn’t to say that an occasional brain deviation from the lecture isn’t normal. My mind wanders, too. But really? You want to write notes back and forth to each other on your computer screen when at least half the class is sitting behind you reading every word? Because it’s literally impossible not to read it. Once you know they’re typing messages, you can’t make yourself not look. You have to. It’s a reflex or an impulse or something completely involuntary. And then you spend the rest of the class time being irritated on at least five different levels because of this nonsense.
/end rant
Plus, you just never know who’s looking over your shoulder. That’s what these legislators in Connecticut found out after the Associated Press published this photo of them playing solitaire during a budget debate.
Oops.
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I agree on the messaging. A ton of my friends 1st semester of 1L year downloaded AIM and used that to communicate w/ each other during class. I jumped on the bandwagon in the beginning (I figured if I got stuck during Socratic questioning, it might come in handy, as a 3L had told me that’s what he used it for). But it was insanely distracting, and profs can tell you’re not paying attention, and you get picked on even more.
Even worse than the messaging, I think, are the people who are reading Perez Hilton (really? Perez Hilton? at least educate yourself in *some* way) or playing games. Back in 1L year, there was a student in Contracts who sat in the second row of a large lecture hall (2 rows in front of me) who would watch episodes of The Office during class. She would pop the DVD into her computer shortly before class started, turn off the volume and turn on the subtitles. After the first week, she never took a single note. Really, what is the point of even going to law school if you’re going to do that? Just drop out and sit at home and watch all the TV you want.
I admit that my attention does sometimes wander in the most boring of classes (Administrative Law comes to mind), and I have given into the lure of the Internet. But I restrict myself to e-mail (only my school account), the NYTimes, and any info discussed in class (e.g. the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – I never brought my statutory supplement to class). I suppose I should be even more restrictive, but there are days when simply coming to class is a struggle. There are also days when I know I’m going to have a difficult time paying attention, and purposely leave my laptop at home. But I can’t do this if I’m going to need it on breaks between classes for journal or extracurricular stuff.
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master ninja Reply:
September 5th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Ya know, if it were done on some IM platform it wouldn’t even be so bad. These people are typing in about 36-point bold font on their notes and then erasing it. SO DISTRACTING! It’s almost like they want everybody to be reading over their shoulders. Grr.
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You know I am a fellow non-traditional 1L and I find this behavior absolutely appalling. The guy who sits to my left in CivPro looks at college football throughout class. It’s incredibly distracting, as we sit on the right-hand side of the classroom, and in order to orient myself towards the prof, I have to also orient myself towards this kid. I am just beside myself about it. Considering just telling him flat out, “Look, could you please not do that? It’s distracting me.” But something is holding me back.
I love love love taking notes on the laptop (we didn’t have laptops when we were in college, right?), but I always turn off the WiFi when the prof enters the room.
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Honestly? I get annoyed when professors ban laptops, because I’ve always typed faster than I can write–that, and I simply prefer digital notes. Always have. I’m not always the most attentive student, I admit, so that’s why I usually sit in the back of the classroom. That way, my screen (if I so happen to be using it for non-school related purposes) doesn’t distract the people around me.
In my opinion, the problem here isn’t the laptops. It’s a lack of courtesy.
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