4 ms·

I took notes in college in org-mode on a little eeepc and graduated summa. Instead of banning laptops to cater to the least common denominator, why not just tel

I took notes in college in org-mode on a little eeepc and graduated summa. Instead of banning laptops to cater to the least common denominator, why not just tell the kids not to surf the web during lectures? Have the TA sit in the back of the class or make a video recording from the back if it's a problem. It's hard not to imagine that the ones who surf the net on their laptops are the same ones who would be busy doodling in their notebooks otherwise. And I'm not too sure about the study they cite that claims that other people are distracted. The assumption seems to be that people using laptops are ipso facto on Youtube and Twitter all the time. And the questionnaires they gave the test subjects beforehand practically begged them to be distracted during the test.

txcwpalpha 9y ago
It's not just about distractions. Laptops also encourage a note taking style where you simply are transcribing every word that the lecturer says. This is a less effective way to learn material, as you can go on "auto pilot" where the words flow from your ears to your fingers without you really having to synthesize any information or really understand it. Studies[1] have shown that this happens even when students are warned against doing this. Hand-writing notes, on the other hand, encourages you to process the information you are hearing and summarize it into your own words, improving understanding and memory of the information. Anecdotally, my entire school (the business school at UT Austin) banned laptops in all classrooms, and I think it was hugely beneficial to my understanding of the materials. In other, non-business classes that allowed laptops, I tended to have to spend a lot longer re-reading my notes and textbooks before I felt like I really understood the information. 1: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/taking-notes-by-hand-could-improve-memory-wt/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/taking-notes-by-hand-...

txcwpalpha 9y ago

It's not just about distractions. Laptops also encourage a note taking style where you simply are transcribing every word that the lecturer says. This is a less effective way to learn material, as you can go on "auto pilot" where the words flow from your ears to your fingers without you really having to synthesize any information or really understand it. Studies[1] have shown that this happens even when students are warned against doing this. Hand-writing notes, on the other hand, encourages you to process the information you are hearing and summarize it into your own words, improving understanding and memory of the information. Anecdotally, my entire school (the business school at UT Austin) banned laptops in all classrooms, and I think it was hugely beneficial to my understanding of the materials. In other, non-business classes that allowed laptops, I tended to have to spend a lot longer re-reading my notes and textbooks before I felt like I really understood the information. 1: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/taking-notes-by-hand-could-improve-memory-wt/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/taking-notes-by-hand-...