In some circles people believe more technology will only lead higher education to become more awesome. Cheaper, faster, more inclusive. For some professors, however, technology is pretty annoying.
The laptop is a particular problem as it allows for both note taking (good) and web surfing and chat programs (bad). Some professors have even banned electronic devices in class.
One Canadian professor has a particularly innovative plan to deal with disruptive technology (in the original sense of the term): allow electronic devices, but force students to tattle on each other if they detect misuse. According to an article by Louise Brown in The Toronto Star:
When professor Henry Kim noticed a student this week paying more attention to his laptop than the class discussion, he asked another student to check out the suspect’s screen.
The business professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business quietly asked the tweeter to leave for the rest of the 90-minute class for breaking the pledge his students must take not to use laptops for anything but class work.
And it meant using another new pledge this frustrated teacher had students take this fall; to spy on a classmate’s screen, if asked, and report truthfully what they see.
Kim defends his policy by explaining that “there’s not an ounce of scientific evidence that students can actually multi-task and learn.”
Well sure, but why should policing your policy be every student’s responsibility? Who cares what tactics students use to get through your class? Either they do or do not retain the information you provide. Grade them accordingly.
