Laptops in the Classroom

Scanning a typical college classroom, one observes a sea of laptops. Upon closer examination, many of these laptops are not showing class notes or readings, but rather Facebook, ESPN, or various shopping websites. Even those students who are paying attention, though, are not truly thinking about the material; most of the time they indiscriminately write down everything the instructor says. For these reasons, laptops are counterproductive to a healthy classroom environment.

Symbolically, the laptop represents an impoverished view of education, namely as the efficient transfer of information. Instructor states information; student writes information efficiently through typing. This approach may enhance certain types of classes, but it discourages active thinking. Truly engaging with a text requires appreciating its style, understanding its content, and questioning its presuppositions. An instructor can help students understand what a text says, but the discussion should not begin and end there. Studies have shown that physically writing notes on paper enhances learning by forcing the student to think about and consolidate what s/he hears. Further, laptops act as physical barriers between students. I have often seen peers hiding behind their laptops to avoid participating in discussions. The marginal benefits that laptops provide are far outweighed by the unfortunate environment they create.

I can’t really say I’m surprised that laptops have taken hold, even in the humanities. As society continues to thirst for technology and accepts everything new as unequivocally good, we have sacrificed valuable things without even noticing. Laptops in classrooms go hand in hand with our modern view of education. As STEM jobs become prioritized, the goal of education becomes, again, the efficient transfer of information. Students think about careers as soon as they step onto campus. (Sorry, everyone, preprofessional Penn has made me a cynic.)

To venture even deeper, I think laptops in classrooms, education as the transfer of information, and our fetishization of technology are symptoms of a graver disease: the instrumentalization of everything. We go to high school to get good grades to get into college; we go to a good college to get good grades to get a good job; we get a good job to make good money to live a happy life. And so on. Of course, technology and efficiency aren’t always bad things; I’m pretty happy to have this laptop to write this post. But if we adopt this “laptop in classroom” mentality, we’re missing out on life’s most valuable gifts. So, maybe, once in a while, we should power down, break out our notebooks, and make that bold comment in class. We all might learn something.