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

[Shane D]

That could be a harmful practice to a blind person in the class,
though. I'm sure they'd have to make the exception in that case.

On 3/6/09, Nightingale, Noel <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov> wrote:
> 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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-- 
-Shane
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