Error: Education shutdown

"OMG! Did you hear that Mike broke up with his GF over the weekend?”\n“Oh, I know! WTF? In the meantime, can you believe what McDreamy said to Meredith on ‘Grey’s’ last night?” \n“Yeah, how crazy was that? I was definitely LMAO!”\nThe above conversation seems harmless enough. It could easily occur in a gabfest at a party, in a lunchtime debriefing between friends or even in a flurry of late-night text messages. But according to an unscientific IDS survey, such not-so-academically oriented discussions occur regularly during class time because of many students’ regular access to Facebook and instant messengers – all thanks to their laptop computers. \nAlthough some claim that laptops complement in-class lectures by allowing students to look up and clarify concepts that the professor presents, almost all the professors surveyed said laptops distract students from classroom participation.\nWhile lesson plans center on solipsism, students concentrate on Solitaire. While professors explain mitosis, wired pupils are more interested in Minesweeper. Kierkegaard? No thanks. With instant messenger at our disposal, it’s Kilroy’s that’s on our minds.\nSo should IU ban laptops from the classroom? Nah. Let’s face it. College isn’t cheap, but if a student decides to slack off instead of getting an education, that’s not the University’s problem. This problem, however, is nothing new. Ever since there have been classes, there have been classroom distractions. Although we don’t know this firsthand, we would be willing to bet that slacking teenage cavemen were busy chiseling each other notes about the mammoth they killed over the weekend while their poor teachers were busy trying to instruct them on the finer points of making fire. \nIn modern times, there are still plenty of vices that can sabotage the value of a college education, whether it’s excessive note-passing during class or excessive partying on weeknights. As long as these wired kids don’t distract others who are actually trying to learn, that’s fine with us. \nIf the use of laptops does prove to be a distraction in specific cases, individual professors may choose to ban them from class. At this point, however, only about 11 percent have done so, and we don’t expect the percentage to increase significantly in the near future. There are many other alternatives to an outright ban available. If the student is paying more attention to YouTube than to utilitarianism, kick the kid out! Or just include a provision in your syllabus reserving the right to take a sledgehammer to anything electronic and obnoxious.\nUniversity-level action in this matter is simply not necessary. If students choose to turn their college experience into a chat room with a $100,000 cover charge, so be it. They may develop carpal tunnel by the tender age of 20 from excessive use of emoticons during accounting. But, hey, that’s their personal choice. Our only question is, if you intend to mess with your laptop the whole time, why bother coming to class at all? Save yourself the walk – just stay home!