Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Computers are convenient for accessing class materials but also create severe challenges to learning effectiveness. A no-laptop policy seems too restrictive for college students, but it brings meaningful changes to everyone in the classroom.
When you step into most classes in the Elkins Auditorium, you can observe the variety of sites students browse during class time: fashion shopping, social media, Wordle, sports games — you name it.
Time management should be college students’ own responsibility, but the reality is not optimistic. College students spend almost two-fifths of class time on the internet for off-task use, and exam scores reflect its disruption on students’ academic performances, according to a journal article in Psychological Science.
What’s more, the harm extends to fellow students in the same room. Those sitting in direct view of a multitasking laptop also score lower on tests, according to an article in the journal Computers and Education. As a result, the contagious effects of technology can largely damage teaching quality.
Professors implementing a no-laptop policy promote the function of classrooms by removing the sources of temptation. Especially with interaction-heavy seminars, fewer technologies lead to more invested conversations.
The policy also reinforces respect for the professor’s devotion, classmates’ contributions and your own expensive tuition.
A no-laptop policy also encourages old-school, hand-written notes. Typing efficiency often leads to copying word for word from the slides or transcribing from the lecture.
However, the speed disadvantage in handwriting pushes notetakers to process and summarize the content. This extra step helps digest the information, thus leading to a deeper understanding of the subject.
The study also shows that writing on physical paper is a more effective way of note-taking. The spacial and tactile notes written by hand provide a unique benefit in memory coding and are associated with improved memory, according to a journal article in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
“No laptops” is an attempt to protect an intellectual space based on scientific findings. Hopefully, professors won’t need to implement the policy as more students voluntarily put technology away.
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Contact Laury Li via email: yuting.li2@pepperdine.edu or on Instagram: @laury__li
