Ban Laptops in Class?

This professor, Tal Gross, says Yes.

Image.

What say you?

Granted, laptops have their advantages. A laptop can be securely backed up more easily than a notebook. A laptop allows students — especially those for whom English is a second language — to look up words and background on the fly. But such benefits are surely overwhelmed by the enormous gravitational tug of Facebook and e-mail. 

And so I’m left with a resolution for the new year: no more electronics in class. On the first day, I’ll describe the research that’s been done, and I’ll ask the students to put away their laptops and their cellphones. Some students might grumble, but they’ll be better off for it.

I’m not a Luddite. Without computers, I couldn’t do my own research. I spend all day in front of a computer. But the enormous, world-changing benefits of computers have to be weighed against the costs. We are becoming a distracted nation, constantly alt-tabbing to our e-mail and peeking at our phones. We should not be so quick to throw out our pens and pencils.

Those students most distracted by the computer need to put it away; those not distracted but using it as a tool need to keep it on.