Law Professor Bans Laptops in Class

[swimscubasteve]

"MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A University of Memphis law professor has banned laptop computers from her classroom and her students are passing a petition against it.

Professor June Entman says her main concern is that students are so busy keyboarding they can't think and analyze what she's telling them.

Students have begun collecting signatures on petitions and tried unsuccessfully to file a complaint with the American Bar Association.

Student Cory Winsett says if he must continue without his laptop, he'll transfer to another school. Winsett says he won't be able to keep up if he has to rely on hand-written notes, which he says are incomplete and less organized."


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talk about a sense of entitlement

 

[Dedpuhl]

What a bunch of brats. What did students do 30 years ago?

They need to purchase a tape recorder if they need "complete" notes.

 

[DougK62]

Laptops are the students' favorite cheating toy. No wonder they don't like them banned.

 

[DaShen]

What do you expect from a bunch of students studying to be lawyers? Of course they are going to be petty about it.
I enjoy typing rather tahn writing myself -- less wear on my hands, but oh well.

 

[acemcmac]

:laugh:

Laptops aren't quite the norm yet at my school, even in the CS department so I have no problem playing spider solitare for 3 hours a day :beer: :beer: :beer:

 

[Ulfwald]

My Professors actually banned tape recorders

 

[OutHouse]

I tried to take notes with a laptop a few times and for me it was a waste to of time. im much faster and more organized with the trusty pen and notebook.

 

[AZGamer]

I'd complain too... It's not as if the students aren't paying the professor's salary or anything

 

[swimscubasteve]

I was less interested in the professor's actions but rather with the student's response. They filed a complaint the the ABA! WTF!

 

[maziwanka]

are you fvcking serious. how the fvck is this news?

a prof. can do whatever he wants to do. its better not to have laptops anyways; you pay more attention. and if everyone doesn't have a laptop, then it isn't really unfair (from a competition standpoint).

i fail to understand how this is news. its a waste of goddamn time.

edit: before i said that i didn't care about the petition, but i read the article and how that one student says he'll transfer to another school if he can't use a laptop. i wanted to say that that is THE DUMBEST thing i have ever heard. just let him transfer. the school doesn't need idiots like that.

the prof. makes a valid point (I AM WRITING THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF PROPERTY CLASS). her choice to ban laptops is completely within her discretion.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

I had a professor that banned the use of laptops during lecture in law school. We didn't make a federal case out of it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

As it happens, I was in the first class at my law school (UC-Hastings) in which laptops were allowed for use in exams, and in which they were frequently used for taking notes in class. I used mine for taking notes more or less the entire time.

Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I think I'd have been better off using a pen and pad, then transcribing my notes into an outline on the computer. That step of reorganization forces you to think, at least somewhat, about the material. Instead, I used outline bulleting in Word as I sat there in class, so I could easily create what appeared to be a respectable outline without an additional step. This was definitely a time saver, but that's not really what school, or learning, is about. Thank God we didn't have wireless internet when I was in law school, or I would have been completely nonproductive some sizable percentage of the time.

 

[fitzov]

Originally posted by: Ulfwald
My Professors actually banned tape recorders

Same here. Even though it was obvious the prof. wasn't worried about people reproducing and selling the content, we didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting any special permission from the Dean.

 

[Ninjja]

Originally posted by: DaShen
What do you expect from a bunch of students studying to be lawyers? Of course they are going to be petty about it.
I enjoy typing rather tahn writing myself -- less wear on my hands, but oh well.

um yes. all lawyers will be petty. you won't be saying they're petty when they are saving your behind. Stop making mean generalizations about law students.

On the story of the laptops - that IS rather funny! I wonder what they did in undergrad?? I never used a lap top in undergrad.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Originally posted by: DonVito
As it happens, I was in the first class at my law school (UC-Hastings) in which laptops were allowed for use in exams, and in which they were frequently used for taking notes in class. I used mine for taking notes more or less the entire time.

Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I think I'd have been better off using a pen and pad, then transcribing my notes into an outline on the computer. That step of reorganization forces you to think, at least somewhat, about the material. Instead, I used outline bulleting in Word as I sat there in class, so I could easily create what appeared to be a respectable outline without an additional step. This was definitely a time saver, but that's not really what school, or learning, is about. Thank God we didn't have wireless internet when I was in law school, or I would have been completely nonproductive some sizable percentage of the time.

I started using a laptop in my first year for all notetaking / outlining. I switched during year two to taking handwritten notes, outlining at night on my lappy. Having to think about the lecture again helped me sorta "boil down" the lectures into a more "learnable" form.

My grades increased dramatically when I ditched my lappy.

 

[spherrod]

Originally posted by: DonVito
As it happens, I was in the first class at my law school (UC-Hastings) in which laptops were allowed for use in exams, and in which they were frequently used for taking notes in class. I used mine for taking notes more or less the entire time.

Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I think I'd have been better off using a pen and pad, then transcribing my notes into an outline on the computer. That step of reorganization forces you to think, at least somewhat, about the material. Instead, I used outline bulleting in Word as I sat there in class, so I could easily create what appeared to be a respectable outline without an additional step. This was definitely a time saver, but that's not really what school, or learning, is about. Thank God we didn't have wireless internet when I was in law school, or I would have been completely nonproductive some sizable percentage of the time.

Yeah, taking notes by hand and then re-writing/re-organising helps you think and understand the subject at hand. I agree with the Professor.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: DougK62
Laptops are the students' favorite cheating toy. No wonder they don't like them banned.

Really you meant to say:

Laptops are the students' favorite neffing toy. No wonder they don't like them banned.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
What a bunch of brats. What did students do 30 years ago?

They need to purchase a tape recorder if they need "complete" notes.

this isn't 30 years ago.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Teacher makes a lot of sense. I never even took notes in class on a paper pad or anything. I just listened closely and engaged in discussions. I'm sure I got more out of my classes than people busy dictating the teachers every word.

That said, WTF does she care if kids aren't getting anything out of the class......fail them if they didn't learn the stuff and get back to your grant proposal.

 

[mugs]

I can see 30 laptops in a room being noisy and distracting. Besides, people have gotten by with a pencil and paper for hundreds of years. If these kids can't handle it, then they just suck.

 

[DigDug]

Yeah, taking notes by hand and then re-writing/re-organising helps you think and understand the subject at hand. I agree with the Professor.

Right. I graduated in the top 5 of my class at law school and not ONCE rewrote my notes. The computer was invaluable in allowing me to cut and paste my notes into a usable outline in 1/10th the time it would take me to rewrite it - allowing me time to actually study the material. People learn differently. I could do without class, and didn't go most of my second and third year - I teach myself things.

Many of the professors's lectures are scatterbrained rants which only lead to alot of irrelevant nonsense - how wonderful it was to erase a paragraph with a few clicks. And when they are talking on point, it can be 90 miles an hour - I can't write fast enough to keep up.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: spherrod

Originally posted by: DonVito
As it happens, I was in the first class at my law school (UC-Hastings) in which laptops were allowed for use in exams, and in which they were frequently used for taking notes in class. I used mine for taking notes more or less the entire time.

Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I think I'd have been better off using a pen and pad, then transcribing my notes into an outline on the computer. That step of reorganization forces you to think, at least somewhat, about the material. Instead, I used outline bulleting in Word as I sat there in class, so I could easily create what appeared to be a respectable outline without an additional step. This was definitely a time saver, but that's not really what school, or learning, is about. Thank God we didn't have wireless internet when I was in law school, or I would have been completely nonproductive some sizable percentage of the time.

Yeah, taking notes by hand and then re-writing/re-organising helps you think and understand the subject at hand. I agree with the Professor.

That only works if your handwriting is decipherable. Mine isn't. Never has been. Even after years of classes for it. That's why I don't take notes at all.

Instead I bring my computer, with my trusty webcam & mic, and record all lectures completely. Then I transcribe the notes later. I've actually thought it would be a great idea to start a huge web site where people could archive their recorded lectures, and build a database of them.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
What a bunch of brats. What did students do 30 years ago?

They need to purchase a tape recorder if they need "complete" notes.

this isn't 30 years ago.

No, apparently we have gone backwards in our abilities compared to 30 years ago.

Student Cory Winsett says if he must continue without his laptop, he'll transfer to another school. Winsett says he won't be able to keep up if he has to rely on hand-written notes, which he says are incomplete and less organized."

^^ pathetic.

 

[Saint Nick]

i use pencil and paper and i don't bring my laptop anywhere because it is distracting and a worthless piece of equipment to have in my classes.

 

[iamme]

i can write and take better notes by hand. i'm all about arrows, underlines, etc. with a laptop, it's just too cumbersome. maybe tablet pc's are better, but i've never used 'em before.