Compulsive away message checkers and YouTube junkies who use class time to feed their habits are one step closer to being officially at the mercy of their professors. University Senate reworded a bill that will give professors the authority ban laptops and other electronic devices in their classrooms if President Jo Ann Gora approves it.
Technically, professors have always had control over the use of laptops in class. Based on issues students brought up in writing competency exams, the Senate decided to implement the reworded policy to draw attention to inappropriate use. Instead of focusing on the abuse of laptops in the classroom, Ball State should be pushing professors to find engaging ways to use responsibly use technology in class.
Professors should find ways to improve the learning process and engage students by using computers and laptops. Instead of banning laptops altogether, professors could ensure appropriate use by requiring in-class research or projects that hinge on using laptops.
This will require professors to change the way they approach education and the learning process. Laptops should be viewed as a valuable technology to take advantage of instead of a mere distraction. Rethinking the purpose of laptops in the classroom will ensure Ball State is constantly pushing the envelope and actually redefining education.
Students also need to reevaluate the way laptops are used in class. When students use laptops inappropriately, professors have every right to ban them because of the distractions they cause. Students can help promote the learning process by making an effort to use laptops appropriately instead of using them for instant messaging or games during class.
The only way laptops won't be completely banished from classrooms is if both students and professors make a concerted effort to use them to advance the learning process. Without effort from both parties, laptop use in the classroom will be given a bad name - and education will suffer as a result.
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