I attended the Eagles concert at MSG on Saturday night and, on the floor at least, the ushers were enforcing a no still pictures or video policy. They got right into people's faces whenever mobile phones were out during the show.
Your article is right on point, and I would add one more observation. I'm willing to bet that most of the professors who want to ban laptops are those who already resent having to teach undergraduates. Perhaps if the professors looked for ways to more effectively engage the students both in class and online, the laptops would become valuable learning tools for both teachers and learners.
Since writing well with a fountain pen takes a bit of practice, I think this is an interesting piece of pedagogy. On the surface, it may seem like a waste of time, but in the Web-enabled world, there is value in teaching kids to be patient, to stay focused on the task and to pay close attention to detail. These are important success attributes that everyone should develop.
So I don't think it is an either/or choice, and those of us who blog, podcast and use other social media must recognize that our culture of self-expression can manifest itself even in low-tech ways.
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Policy enforcement during the concert
I attended the Eagles concert at MSG on Saturday night and, on the floor at least, the ushers were enforcing a no still pictures or video policy. They got right into people's faces whenever mobile phones were out during the show.
Banning Laptops
Your article is right on point, and I would add one more observation. I'm willing to bet that most of the professors who want to ban laptops are those who already resent having to teach undergraduates. Perhaps if the professors looked for ways to more effectively engage the students both in class and online, the laptops would become valuable learning tools for both teachers and learners.
I actually think it is a good idea
Since writing well with a fountain pen takes a bit of practice, I think this is an interesting piece of pedagogy. On the surface, it may seem like a waste of time, but in the Web-enabled world, there is value in teaching kids to be patient, to stay focused on the task and to pay close attention to detail. These are important success attributes that everyone should develop.
So I don't think it is an either/or choice, and those of us who blog, podcast and use other social media must recognize that our culture of self-expression can manifest itself even in low-tech ways.