By The Tartan Board
Last week, our EdBoard bravely tackled the issue of iPad kids and the incessant screen addictions of generation alpha. This week, we turn the critical eye toward ourselves and consider how the olds (age 40 and up) might view our own technological tendencies.
We’re not the first generation of students to have personal computers, but we still get to watch in real time how academia adapts to device-distracted students. Even 30 years after the first Apple PowerBook came out, each teacher can craft their own policy for dealing with computers in class.
At the EdBoard table sat a myriad of majors, representing a whole four colleges (Tepper and CS students, don’t be shy) which showed just how varied the device policy was in our classes.
Our Dietrich representatives spoke of their 10- and 20-student discussion classes, where an active audience is critical. Two of them brought up a professor who would withhold the daily attendance grade if a student even took their laptop out. Our science and engineering students, on the other hand, seem to have an easier time getting away with being distracted in a big, anonymous lecture hall (although a certain 15-112 professor is known to call out students mid-lecture, a practice we understand but have mixed feelings on).
Some professors allow voluntary laptop use, but ask those who do to sit in the back on the basis that laptops can distract yourself and others. (Watching someone in the front row play Geoguessr is sometimes truly too magnetic to ignore).
We know that we usually shouldn’t have our laptops out, but sometimes — just sometimes — lectures are boring! Sure, we’re not going to school to have fun in class, but sometimes the pace and content of a lecture makes the laptop too tempting.
And look, it’s not like we’re playing Tetris back there (except for the times we’re playing Tetris). Sometimes, a stagnant lecture just begs you to use that time for something better (for instance, writing articles for The Tartan). In all seriousness though, more than several of us can attest to using lecture time to do homework for that class, homework for other classes, or any of the million other tasks that weigh on the mind of a busy college student.
Most students here are driven and focused, and when the lecture time is used well we give the professor their due attention. The problems begin when the lectures feel less-than-worth our time; perhaps the laptops are just a visible symptom of a deeper issue.
As privileged as we are to hear lectures from incredibly intelligent professors, sometimes it’s hard not to feel like teaching is of tertiary importance to some. In other words, you can tell who’s here for the research and who’s here for the education. If they’re not putting in the effort to teach, why would we put in the energy to pay attention?
Yet, you can also have an enthusiastic professor run a class poorly. The most cheerful, high-energy professor can’t overcome a bad lesson plan if they don’t get support from the university in crafting their curriculum. And sometimes, a PhD’s-worth of education can make it hard for you to remember the difficulties an undergrad will face.
At the end of the day, we know we shouldn’t take our laptops out unless asked (which, to the dismay of paper-and-pencil fans, does sometimes happen). We understand that it’s disruptive and disrespectful to the professor, but respect goes both ways; we are infinitely more inclined to put the laptop away and focus when it feels like our time is also being respected.
Leave a Reply