Laptop Debate: Effect on Exams versus Class Discussion

Peter Lattman at the WSJ Law Blog is asking readers whether Professor David Cole's no laptop policy is a good idea.  Cole, who teaches at Georgetown Law, published an anti-laptop essay in the Saturday Washington Post.  Like Professor Cole's students, the comments appear to be favoring the ban.  But there are some dissenters.

Perhaps this is the knotty empirical question that lies beneath this controversy:  What if final exam performance is maximized by laptop transcription, but the quality of class discussion is maximized by no laptops?   I think there may be some truth to this.  Many students claim that laptop notetaking helps them better distill the information after class.  If so, it is quite a conundrum. 

Any thoughts on a research design to test it?

Comments

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[Matt Berns]

As a 1L at Georgetown, though not one of Prof. Cole's students, I have two criticisms of his op-ed.
1) I hear that Cole framed his survey question about whether students preferred laptops in a way that biased the results. He doesn't include the phrasing of the questions in his Post piece. (I didn't see the survey, so this is second-hand info, but coming from students who took the survey.)
By way of comparison, a professor of mine, intrigued by Cole's example, asked our class whether she should ban laptops in her class next year. The results were overwhelmingly against a ban.
2) If Prof. Cole is worried about students checking the Red Sox box score, he underestimates the wonders of internet in class. He should really be worried about students watching a live feed from Fenway.

[William Henderson]

Pat,
That is a great point the resonates with my gut instinct. But perhaps the most apt analogy is not to utility but temptation. Alcoholics and junk food addicts (I am picking things I can relate to) would do better in an environment with no alcohol and no junk food.

It is possible that Gen Y is too easily distracted by the instant stimulation of the net, instant messaging, and email. I think the reaction of Cole's students is, at a minimum, counterintuitive.

[Pat Baude]

Can anyone think of any past advance in human knowledge or understanding that was accomplished by teachers prohibiting advanced university students from using methods they found useful?

[William Henderson]

Tony, that is a good point. Some might counter that their notes reflect all that is relevant and hence are shorter and more tractable. The notetaking process also reflects a distillation of sorts. In law school, I was not this type of notetaker, but I have seen it done. Those who have this knack often swear by it.

[Tony Lopez]

If laptop transcription is helpful because information can be distilled after class, then students and professors need not choose between exam prep and class discussion. The professor could ban laptops, yet still provide a transcript of the class, either through weekly student volunteers or some other means.