[blindlaw] FW: Law Students Report Positive Reactionto No-Laptop Policy, ABA Journal, March 5, 2009

Sat Mar 7 01:31:02 UTC 2009

Thomas, in today's time, most law professors would accommodate a blind 
student to use his/her laptop. Some professors might even forego the policy 
if it will result in a stigma to that student in class -- being the only one 
using a laptop. I find law professors to be much more accommodating and 
understanding than undergraduate professors. Perhaps it's because they know 
the law and its consequences.

Rod Alcidonis
Juris Doctor Candidate, 2009.
Roger Williams University School of Law
10 Metacom Ave., Box: 9003
Bristol, RI 02809
Cell: 718-704-4651
Home: 401-824-8685

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Spiry" <bspiry at comcast.net>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 6:26 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Law Students Report Positive Reactionto 
No-Laptop Policy, ABA Journal, March 5, 2009

> you're jumping to the conclusion that he would not accommodate a request 
> by
> a blind student to use the laptop.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Russell J. Thomas, Jr
> Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 11:56 AM
> To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Law Students Report Positive Reaction to
> No-Laptop Policy, ABA Journal, March 5, 2009
>
> This is a step backward for any blind person who prefers to take notes on 
> a
> laptop. This is stone-age thinking. Is this prof's ego so big, that he
> somehow feels slighted if his students are not looking at him?
>
>
>
> Respectfully,
>
>
>
> Russell J. Thomas, Jr.
>
> THOMAS & ASSOCIATES
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel
> Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 9:21 AM
> To: 'blindlaw at nfbnet.org'
> Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Law Students Report Positive Reaction to No-Laptop
> Policy, ABA Journal, March 5, 2009
>
> Blindlaw listers:
>
> This article struck me as showing one edge blind law students and lawyers
> may have over their sighted counterparts, who apparently need to look at
> their screens rather than at the person who is speaking!
>
> Noel
>
>
>
> Link:
> http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/law_students_report_positive_reaction_to_no
> -laptop_policy
>
> Text:
> Law Students Report Positive Reaction to No-Laptop Policy
> Posted Mar 5, 2009
> By Debra Cassens Weiss
>
> A law professor who banned laptops in his first-year criminal law class
> surveyed his students about their reaction-and found it was generally
> positive.
>
> UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh had the results in a memo to his 
> collegues
> (PDF) and on his blog, The Volokh Conspiracy.
>
> Seventy-one percent of the students who responded reported the policy had 
> a
> strongly positive or slightly positive effect on their concentration in
> class. Fifty-four percent said it had a positive effect on their overall
> enjoyment of the course.
>
> Only 36 percent reported a positive influence on learning, though; 41
> percent said the experience was neutral in regard to learning.
>
> One student pointed out that the experiment had a negative effect on 
> trees.
> The student's e-mail to Volokh said those who brief cases on their 
> computers
> have to print out their notes for class. And those who want their class
> notes neatly typed and available on their laptop have to transcribe
> classroom notes.
>
> While students were positive, Volokh said he noted no material differences
> in classroom discussions. He suspects 1Ls tend to be engaged, and they 
> often
> find criminal law particularly interesting. He wonders if the results 
> would
> be different in classes with little voluntary class participation.
>
> Earlier this week on Prawfsblawg, Howard Wasserman, an associate law
> professor at Florida International University, noted that his own 
> classroom
> laptop ban was going better than he had hoped.
>
> "I never realized how much I missed eye contact," Wasserman wrote. "Even 
> the
> bored and checked-out students at least look up at me. And when students
> have to look up, you can get a sense from their eyes as to whether they 
> are
> 'getting' what you were talking about and adjust accordingly. I also never
> realized how loud keyboards are when 75 students are typing 
> simultaneously."
>
> He noted that he'll have to wait for class evaluations at the end of the
> semester to see what his students think of the ban.
>
>
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