Tuesday, February 10, 2009 (1:45 pm)
Shame On Those Pesky, Distracting Laptops
“Recent studies suggest that laptops in class detract from lecture-based learning”
Lecture-based learning? Isn’t that an oxymoron? How much can you really learn by sitting and soaking? :)
Okay, so I’m showing my constructivism bias here. The article I am reading, Can I have your half-attention, please?, actually is an interesting read about how instructors are getting over their technophobia (and themselves in the process) and finding ways to integrate laptops into learning. It also shows how other instructors misunderstood what is going on in their class before laptops. I was one of those students that zoned out and started doodling on my notes to pass time until lecture was over. If I had a laptop, I bet I would have paid more attention, because I could have double checked the instructor’s facts while he/she was talking.
Educators like Don Krug and Richard Smith are really getting the idea about laptops (even though they both seem to come at the issue from two different angles), while others like Jean Boivin are just missing it. Too bad the ones that miss it have some questionable research to back them up. I hope we get some better designed research studies on this in the future.
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