46 ms·

> "A wealth of studies on students’ use of computers in the classroom has accumulated to support this intuition. Among the most famous is a landmark Cornell Uni

by spodek 12y ago

> "A wealth of studies on students’ use of computers in the classroom has accumulated to support this intuition. Among the most famous is a landmark Cornell University study from 2003 called “The Laptop and the Lecture,” wherein half of a class was allowed unfettered access to their computers during a lecture while the other half was asked to keep their laptops closed." The problem is the lecture! Teachers who don't engage students -- and lecturing rarely engages anyone -- push students away from material they don't care about. If students are engaged and laptops impede them, they'll put them away themselves. If you didn't engage the students, no amount of banning things they care about more than being lectured at will make them care. If you have to ban something, ban the lecture and teachers who rely on lecturing at the expense of empathy and compassion for students. Students are people like you and me. We use laptops in our work when they help and put them away when they don't. If we want students to learn about the world and how to succeed in it, let them work like we work, solving problems like we solve. Experiential, project-based learning does this automatically, at least with effective teachers. Lecturing doesn't. If you had a job you couldn't quit where your manager lectured at you all the time you'd get out your computer too. HN just had a thread -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7739378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7739378 -- on the problems with lectures based on a Science Magazine article, "Lectures Aren’t Just Boring, They’re Ineffective, Too, Study Finds.” Here is my blog post with related notes from that thread -- "Why I avoid lecturing when I lead and teach" http://joshuaspodek.com/avoid-lecturing-lead-teach http://joshuaspodek.com/avoid-lecturing-lead-teach

iak8god 12y ago
> Teachers who don't engage students -- and lecturing will rarely engage anyone -- are the problem ... If you didn't engage the students, no amount of banning things they care about more than you droning on in front of them will make them care. University students who have no interest in a course's material have no business being enrolled in that course. These are adults who are there voluntarily, and should be expected to participate in their own education without instructors jumping through hoops to engage them. A lecture is an opportunity for students to hear from an expert about a topic that should be of interest to them. Of course teachers should strive to present information in a way that's accessible and captivating, but even the driest lecture is no excuse to space out. It is not really feasible to compete for students' attention with the information equivalent of junk food while presenting and explaining serious, in-depth material.
- xemoka 12y ago
  I entirely disagree. You cannot put all the onus on the students when departments and degrees require classes that hold no interest to the pupil. Sure, I'll give you that this may apply for 4th (and perhaps 3rd) year classes and post grads. However, most entry level courses are mindless drivel and a complete waste of both the student's and instructor's time (English 100 anyone?), although are 'required' to continue on (or get that degree). Academia doesn't fit happily into your little box. The dryest lecture may not be an excuse to space out, but good luck. You may be the perfect pupil, attentive to every single word a lecturer says for 3 hours—most people though can't even listen and process past 45 minutes. I personally can listen for a while, but get bored... lectures rarely move fast enough for me and can rarely keep my attention unless actually stimulating. Academics is a two way street, both the pupil and instructor must participate in order for a successful transfer of knowledge. How many instructors have you had that teach their course right from a textbook without anything added? Lazy instructors create lazy and bored students.
pavelrub 12y ago
And yet you are quoting the description of a study that concluded that closed laptops = better understanding of the lecture, regardless of whether the students find the teacher engaging or not. Your reply is a bit like saying "the solution to conflicts around the world is for people to love each other". How does one go and apply this solution to make the world a better place now? It could be the case that the ideal solution is better teachers, but we aren't talking about ideal solutions, we are talking about practical ones. If banning laptops makes student achieve better grades - then it's worth considering doing so.

by spodek 12y ago

iak8god 12y ago

> Teachers who don't engage students -- and lecturing will rarely engage anyone -- are the problem ... If you didn't engage the students, no amount of banning things they care about more than you droning on in front of them will make them care. University students who have no interest in a course's material have no business being enrolled in that course. These are adults who are there voluntarily, and should be expected to participate in their own education without instructors jumping through hoops to engage them. A lecture is an opportunity for students to hear from an expert about a topic that should be of interest to them. Of course teachers should strive to present information in a way that's accessible and captivating, but even the driest lecture is no excuse to space out. It is not really feasible to compete for students' attention with the information equivalent of junk food while presenting and explaining serious, in-depth material.

xemoka 12y ago
I entirely disagree. You cannot put all the onus on the students when departments and degrees require classes that hold no interest to the pupil. Sure, I'll give you that this may apply for 4th (and perhaps 3rd) year classes and post grads. However, most entry level courses are mindless drivel and a complete waste of both the student's and instructor's time (English 100 anyone?), although are 'required' to continue on (or get that degree). Academia doesn't fit happily into your little box. The dryest lecture may not be an excuse to space out, but good luck. You may be the perfect pupil, attentive to every single word a lecturer says for 3 hours—most people though can't even listen and process past 45 minutes. I personally can listen for a while, but get bored... lectures rarely move fast enough for me and can rarely keep my attention unless actually stimulating. Academics is a two way street, both the pupil and instructor must participate in order for a successful transfer of knowledge. How many instructors have you had that teach their course right from a textbook without anything added? Lazy instructors create lazy and bored students.

pavelrub 12y ago

And yet you are quoting the description of a study that concluded that closed laptops = better understanding of the lecture, regardless of whether the students find the teacher engaging or not. Your reply is a bit like saying "the solution to conflicts around the world is for people to love each other". How does one go and apply this solution to make the world a better place now? It could be the case that the ideal solution is better teachers, but we aren't talking about ideal solutions, we are talking about practical ones. If banning laptops makes student achieve better grades - then it's worth considering doing so.