Rhetoric 3371 Spring 2007

I agree with the opinions in this article. I am a senior this year and have come to recognize this behavior in almost every class I have taken at the U. I think students definitely are detracting from their own learning and I’m not surprised if scores of students who engage in that behavior are lower than those who pay (full) attention. It is not only distracting to the students who do it, but also to others around them. Nothing is more annoying than sitting next to someone in class who is typing away on their laptop when I am trying to concentrate on the lecture. And those who sit near the front and surf the internet can be seen by anyone behind them –

This reminds me of the public cell phone use we talked about earlier in class. Using your laptop in public is becoming more and more common, but people around you can still see what you’re doing (and saying on IM). I have watched people play on their myspace and facebook accounts, shop on ebay, and look at photobucket accounts. I think this is inappropriate while class is in session.

So the obvious question is – how do you regulate technology use during lectures? Is it right for the professor to ban the use of laptops? And how do you enforce the policies? In public universities students (and I’m guessing especially younger students) value their privacy and independence and won’t stand being told what to do. It is very difficult as a teacher to create and enforce technology policies (especially in large lectures), but I think it does need to be done somehow.

[I forgot to add to my original post my thoughts on the '20 days' article]

Now this intrigued me because I would be interested to see what I would do without computers. A few things would have to change first: The biggest factor is my job - I develop software products so I would have to take a vacation from my job if I wanted to try this experiment. Then I would have to be graduated from school, since my 2 classes are at least partly web-based.

Aside from my work and school (which are pretty important, wouldn't you say?) I might be able to survive. I use my computer for news, entertainment, and communication, but I think it would 'allow' me more time to do other things that involve leaving the house.

I am beginning to realize how much my computers ties me down... I might spend more time at the library, out with friends, and even working out if I didn't have a computer.

I found the "Distractions in the Wireless Classroom" article to be interesting. Being an engineering student I have had the opportunity to take classes in two different worlds. The first world is my chemical engineering classes. In these classes the Professors are given so much respect no one would think about shopping online or text messaging. Laptops, cell phones, and the daily are not banned in the syllabuses, simply because it is not needed. Student's respect the professors as well as the professors respect their students. Further, the material in these classes is extremely difficult to learn. If you don't pay attention for even 5 minutes you will most likely be lost by the time you zone back in. I think this one reason why the wireless classroom has not affected the engineering classroom. The other world is my liberal education classes. In these classes I notice all the things stated in the article from facebooking to buying stuff on ebay. I don't know if students think they are so smart that they don't need to pay attention, if they have ADD, or if the material is not that challenging and they feel they don't need to pay attention. I personally have always been diligent about not being distracted in class by technology and don't exactly know why so many of my colleagues have different thoughts.

I liked the article “Distractions in the Wireless Classroom.” Everything that was said was very true, like about the students who use their laptops for things other than taking notes for their lecture (I see this ALL the time). I really liked the part where it explained what the student needed to do if they were caught not using the device properly, like singing a song in front of the class. I think that if more lecture halls were to enforce those rules, they would probably see better test scores too. I think that laptops are very distracting especially because most classrooms have wireless access and the students can search the internet. I don’t understand why some classrooms have wireless internet; I have yet to have a class that requires me to bring my computer and go to the internet. But I do realize that having the wireless makes using the computer more efficient, in that you can bring it wherever you want and you can do your school work. So really, I believe wireless is a good idea, I just think that students should be more responsible in how they use their time during class.

After reading “Distractions in a Wireless Classroom” I felt like there was an exaggeration on how much this really affects students, and specifically good students. If we are talking about falling grades, the students that are getting distracted will get distracted either way. They are the same students that read newspapers, do homework and suduko. If we are talking about distracting other students, that is a different story. Although, typing on an instant messenger makes the same sounds as taking notes on a word processor. In the courses that I have taken, laptops have not been a problem at all. As far as the consequences for a cell phone going off or instant messaging, I don’t think that public humiliation is the best. I think that instead, the student could be asked to leave as to not disturb anyone else.

I am one of the students that in some class's i will bring my laptop and go on the internet, or do the seduko or do something to occupy my time. Usually the class's i do these activities in are the what i would call boring class's, or the "easy" ones for me. I did this alot my freshman year, and it has tailed off to a degree the past 2 years, because i'm getting into more interesting, harder classes. I have had a couple of classes where the teacher will say at the beginning of the semester that if a cell phone goes off its his for the rest of the class period and talk to him afterwards. Its amazing that a cell phone never goes off in those types of classes, but every other class it goes off in!!!

“20 days without a PC” and “Distractions in the wireless classroom” were both very interesting articles. In “20 days without a PC,” when David Lake said, “I’ve been downloading music faster than I can enjoy it,” I thought he was absolutely right. I don’t think this only pertains to music either, but about knowledge in general. This ties into the idea that “In a thousand ways, technology accelerates the pace of life.” When everything is coming at you, knowledge for example, at such a fast pace it is hard to concretely understand it. I mean, you may be able to do well on a test, because you have memorized the facts or are able to do a couple of problems, but it takes time to actually absorb the material and formulate your own hypotheses. In the second article there was a quote by a professor that said his greatest fear was that “technology will reduce the mind to the level of the machine.” I thought this was a very interesting point. If students are saturated with factual info, then who is going to be making the hypotheses that this information is based on? Generally students aren’t in a classroom to learn. They are in a classroom to get the grade, which to me is very annoying. If college is teaching us to critically think, then why is there so much emphasis on testing, assignments, and grades? Granted I understand the need for tests and what-not, because most students wouldn’t learn the material otherwise, but when you have a class oriented like this one, more discussion based, students feel more excited to learn and less concerned about the grade. Education isn’t a process designed to acquire some designated “grade.” Education is a stimulation of the mind with an emphasis on elevating an individual to higher state of contemplation, which in turn generally leaves a person better (in more ways than one) than they were before. More-often-than-not this idea is left drowning in sea of uncertainty and doubt, which are a product of stressful situations from too many people “trying to get that A.” Oh, and wireless use in the classroom is rude, it’s the same idea as talking loud in public with a cell-phone. Poor technological etiquette is going to increase without proper education.

I thought the "Distractions in the Wireless Classroom" article was rather interesting because I actually started reading it in a class on my laptop and then stopped because I was doing exactly what the article was describing. I thought the article had many good points but I also think some were exaggerated. I really like the idea of teachers not allowing students to have laptops in the classroom because I think they are a big distraction and not just to that person but to everyone in the classroom. I can't imagine how professors feel trying to lecture and teach students when a majority of them are looking at their computer instead of listening. I am guilty of doing this and I am actually ashamed that I do it. The part that I feel was exaggerated was the failing grades students were getting as a result of using their computer. I completely agree with Kyle. While I do not doubt that their is truth to that, I also think that if students are that easily distracted and are getting failing grades that they would find something else to distract them instead of their computer.

When I started reading "20 Days with a PC" I predicted that this guy would in the end see how good life could be without a computer and I was right. I think computers really do rob us of time and this somewhat "experiment" proves that. I liked how he said that instead of packing all of his wires and cables for his computer for his trip, he helped his son pack his bag. He also said that instead of frantically finded a phone booth to plug in his computer and check his mail, he sat and read a book instead. I think computers take away from quality time with others and even time for yourself. I think this experiment proved that you could live without a computer and that life would actually probably be more simple and less stressful without them.

I had a good chuckle reading “20 Days without a PC” as it reminded me of myself 2 summers ago. I traveled to a different country for 2 months and didn’t bother taking my laptop since a) the plugs were different and so was the voltage output, and b) the country didn’t have the same telephone system as here. Basically, I was PCless for 2 months. By the end of the second month, I felt like the world had passed me by and that I had fallen behind 2 years. During my last few days, I found a coffee shop which would let you buy time on the internet and would charge per minute on one of their computers (called cafe-net). I quickly hopped online only to realize that the dial-up speed they were using was torture. Anyhow, the article was good and was something I could easily relate to. I especially like the table at the very end where he compares and contrast the pros/cons of PC’s.

I love Cynthia M. Frisby’s new rules about no PC’s or cell phones that she mentions in the article “Distractions in the wireless classroom”. In fact, I think more instructors should apply rules like hers (well, maybe not…I don’t think I want to hear students singing in class). Why do students come to class to work on their computer or text away on their phones anyway? Do those students think that as long as they show up, the instructor will appreciate their efforts in making it to lecture, regardless of what they do in class? Pretty rude in my opinion. Many instructors such as Cynthia are becoming stricter and I think more instructors need to follow. The school itself is partly to blame for offering wireless inside classrooms as well. I think there may soon be a big debate in regards to banning laptops in classrooms while the instructor lectures.

Because I am so addicted to using technology such as computers, I think it would be very difficult for me to go without using a computer for 20 days. However, I do think it would be possible – I would just struggle with it. Since so many things in today’s society are connected through a computer, I believe it would be difficult for almost everyone who uses a computer on a regular basis to not use one for 20 days. As for “Distractions in the Classroom,” I believe I get more out of a class when I am not online, reading the news, etc. I figure it is far more beneficial for me to pay attention in class (even if sometimes I do not feel like being there) than do something that distracts from the class. On the other hand, I think everything will eventually go wireless, connecting people across the globe at any time. The wireless technology can also help in the classroom if it is used productively.

I definitely found truth in the “Distractions in the Wireless Classroom” article. The University focuses very much on technology. We are a paperless university, and wireless connects all of our classroom buildings and even outside spaces! I bring my laptop to many classes, but hardly ever to take notes. I bring it to my three hour night class just to keep me awake. I spend my time doing other homework and emailing. I realize that this is an extremely rude practice, and most professors usually ask students to leave technology at home (like cell phones, ipods, laptops etc.) Having wireless access in classrooms can be very beneficial because it facilitates multimedia classroom learning. However, I think that overall wireless internet is much more of a distraction in the classroom for everyday use than it is beneficial.
The second article, “20 Days Without a PC”, made me thing about how much time I actually waste on my computer. I senselessly check my email and facebook accounts all the time. Its kind of a compulsion. Tonight, I sat down to write a paper, but probably wasted half of my time randomly surfing for things online. 20 days without a computer would definitely be beneficial for me. Honestly, the world will not end if I cannot respond to an email immediately. And facebook is essentially useless in the scheme of things. It would be a really interesting to try to go without a computer for a few weeks. I would love to allocate the time I spend aimlessly online and do something worthwhile.

I found the article "Distractions in the Wireless Classroom" to be very interesting. I do agree with the whole idea of the laptop taking away from the whole learning experience; however I think it is inevitable. There will always be a distraction in the classroom. I figure if people are paying for an education and they want to be distracted, well then that's their choice. I think that it probably lowers grades, but not too significantly. I agree with Alexandra when she says that using these technologies (laptop, cell phone etc.) in the classroom is extremely rude. When someone is speaking in front of the classroom they should have everyone's attention.

It seems as though all of our lives are taken over by computers. And yes, we use it because we have to, due to school work or work. Or for research, which is much more time efficient than going to the library and having a librarian look it up for you. But is it the most efficient and the best solution? I think it is best if we can step away from the computer once in awhile and actually take the time to go to the library and do our own little research with our own hands and eyes, and did I mention legs? And I’m always up for a challenge, how about 30 days without a computer?

I can’t do my work with a computer either, that is a computer with wireless/internet access. I get distracted/tempted and go online and surf the web instead of typing my paper or reading. I don’t usually take my laptop to class unless I have use for it, as to type my paper or present a power point. And when I do bring my laptop to class, I don’t use it in class. I don’t care if other students bring their laptop to class either or surf the net while in lecture. I mean, they pay for their schooling. I do have to say that it is a little bit annoying and distracting when I am sitting by a person who is typing away. Then I get angry at that person because (1) why come to class if you are not going to pay attention or participate, (2) I paid for my schooling too so please do not distract me from learning or listening to the lecture, and (3) it is rude to your fellow classmates and professor. Then I start to think that Apple or some company should make soundless keyboards. And I get carried away and…what did I just missed…what did he say? See what I mean? :)

I too think that distractions will be distractions; if the distractions are more interesting than the class itself, then it won't matter what happens to be the main distraction. While having fewer distractions can help maintain attention, maintaining the classroom's interest should be much more effective. It seems that as we get into higher and higher level classes, less and less effort is spent on maintaining interest.

Back in December I sent my computer in for repairs... they somehow lost it, so I didn't get one back for 2-3 months later. I wasn't entirely computerless during that time, but definitely much more restricted. I can't say much changed though - I simply slept a lot more. It's not like my friends are going to be off work any more often just because my computer is gone...

One thing that often bothers me:
people often use "read a book" as a "good alternative" to activities such as computer use. Now so long as it doesn't interfere with important activities (as with anything), I don't see what's wrong with using a computer... on the same note, reading a book. I wouldn't necessarily say that either is more healthy than the other. (I have gotten many headaches from reading too long)

so... I would just say that it isn't computers in general, but simply an activity that is done a lot that should be checked for interfering with other important activities. For example, not just computer use, but work in general might reduce the amount of time a parent spends with his/her children.

It reminds me of an episode of a series I watched once...
the target character in the story was basically addicted to using her computer, and would spend very little time with her son. She befriended one of the characters in the series, who decided to help her. Initially, she tells the target to simply stop using it. She agrees, but a few minutes later decides to get on and start sending emails, instant messages, posting on forums, etc, saying that she wouldn't be on the computer anymore... and kept on going.
long story short, computer ends up getting destroyed, and instead of trying to do 1000 things at the same time while her son plays alone, she does the laundry with him.

I think that laptops can be a bit distracting during lectures. Even if I'm not the one that's checking out Facebook or other sites during class, if there's someone else doing it next to me or in front of me, it will be distracting me. I think that even though laptops can be a more efficient way to take notes, unless the teacher has a tendency of going too fast or having too much information on the slides, it is unnecessary to bring laptops to class. There is a good chance that students will check out other websites when they get bored with the lecture and will end up missing a lot of information. I think that the teacher in "Distractions in a Wireless Classroom" is absolutely right in not allowing laptops if she doesn't race through information during lectures.