kikipeepers asked
Law schools are re-evaluating their decisions to force technology on students through laptop requirements and wireless networks. Only 15 years ago, law schools began experimenting with computers in the classroom. For many, including Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Ronald Staudt, computers held great potential that education could be enhanced by pulling up cases in class or learning through online sources.... Instead, many law school professors say that laptops have turned students into mere stenographers, in addition to allowing them to watch porn or gamble online.... The number of faculty members banning laptops at Duke University School of Law prompted a reversal of its laptop requirement, according to Richard A. Danner, senior associate dean for information services. Duke allows faculty to control the use of laptops in class, Danner says. But so many profs had some ban on laptops that students began to question why the machines were required. “That affected our discussion,” he says, and it was one of the reasons the school dropped the requirement. “It is so hard to control,” Danner says. “And that then leads to faculty saying, since we can’t control that and since we can’t control [the students] to behave, you can’t use your computer at all.”... Ohio State University law professor Douglas A. Berman isn’t bothered by what his students do in class. If students want to play poker or watch porn during class, so be it, he says, though he knows his opinion is out of the mainstream. “I have students who don’t come to class. I have students who are paying attention and say dumb things. But so be it,” Berman says. Berman’s only concern is when one student’s behavior distracts another’s learning experience.
136 answers · 0 comments
Answer this yourself in the app
See how this splits by age, gender, and region in the app.
