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source:
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Laptops, tablets, cell phones, and other hardware have become common place in classrooms throughout the U.S. Not surprisingly, some faculty continue to ban laptop computers (hereafter referred to as laptops) inside the classroom at institutions of higher education. According to the 2017 ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, students view their laptop as critical to their academic success (Brooks & Pomerantz, 2017). Also, key findings from this same study revealed that faculty banned or discouraged the use of laptops inside the college classroom. There are mixed research results on student use of laptops during class time in higher education.
Researchers
identified benefits to using laptops during class. Deveci, Dalton, Hassan, Amer, & Cubero (2018) conducted
a project to identify ways in which laptop use affects the learning
environment. The researches focused on
two courses for freshman students: Strategies for Team Based Engineering
Problem Solving (STEPS) and Communications. In the STEPS classes, students worked
in teams to find engineering solutions using a systematic design process. The
Communication courses provided students with a variety of skills, such as
research, report writing, and oral presentations. Instructors were able to engage
students more during the production of written documentation and be involved in
the writing and revision process. Students felt the feedback was more relevant,
timely, and focused. Students were able to make immediate qualitative
improvements. Based on the study results, the project lead to effective
integration of laptops in active learning environments.
In
another research study, Durham, Russell, and Van Horne (2018) revised a large
lecture- and discussion-based course focused on the history of American journalism with
a writing-based general curriculum. The
course was
offered to lower division students in a traditional classroom-approach based on
an instructor-student discussion format in two 50-minute class sessions. In
revising the course, the instructors designed a wiki as the main platform for
presenting learning materials and detailed instructions for discussion
activities and tasks. In addition to the weekly wiki, students were required to
read a textbook and to submit written answers to study questions on the lecture
topic. Students took three unit tests requiring brief essay answering fact- and
concept-based questions on lecture content. Using laptops and working in
groups, students read, researched, and discussed wiki-based probe questions
prior to a general discussion. To assess the impact of this revised course,
students took a self-reported survey at four different times during the
semester. The instructors found that this new approach positively engaged
students in the course by fostering a rich learning environment.
Researchers suggest that laptop use in the classroom distracts
students and does not enhance learning. Carter, Greenberg, and Walker (2017) research
study focused on classes where using laptops or tablets for note-taking was
optional. To determine the impact on laptop usage on student performance, they
conducted a randomized controlled trial among undergraduates in Principles of
Economics classes. They found that in-class computer use reduced academic performance.
Attia, Baig, Marzouk, and Khan (2017) conducted a quantitative exploratory
study to measure the student’s perception of distraction by technology and
external and internal distracters. The results implied that laptop use in the
classroom can impact negatively on the students’ learning process.
In
conclusion, laptops can be both a distraction and a useful technology during
face-to-face class time. So, should you have an optional laptop policy and give
students the choice to use the technology in your class? Or, should you ban
laptop use altogether? Regardless, it is important for instructors to engage
students and enhance students learning experiences (laptops or not).
References
Attia, N. A., Baig, L., Marzouk, Y.
I., & Khan, A. (2017). The potential effect of technology and distractions
on undergraduate students' concentration. Pakistan Journal of Medical
Sciences, 33(4), 860-865. doi:10.12669/pjms.334.12560
Brooks,
D. C, and Pomerantz, J. (2017) ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information
Technology. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/resources/2017/10/ecar-study-of-undergraduate-students-and-information-technology-2017
Carter, S. P., Greenberg, K., &
Walker, M. S. (2017). Should professors ban laptops? How classroom computer use
affects student learning. Education Next, 17(4), 68-.
Deveci, T., Dalton, D., Hassan, A.,
Amer, S. T., & Cubero, S. (2018). Project-X: An initiative to increase
student engagement through laptops. Contemporary Educational Technology, 9(1),
1.
Durham, F. D., Russell, J., &
Van Horne, S. (2018). Assessing student engagement: A collaborative curriculum
for large lecture discussion sections. Journalism & Mass Communication
Educator, 73(2), 218-236. doi:10.1177/1077695817713431
Cite this blog: Washington,
G. (2019, February 28). Laptops
in the Classroom: A Distraction or a Useful Technology? [Blog post]. Retrieved
from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/
