Earlier this year, Kieran Mullen, a physics professor from U. Oklahoma, staged an event in which he destroyed a student’s laptop to colorfully demonstrate one of his class policies. The message was clear: no laptops allowed.
A student in the lecture captured the incident through a video on his Smartphone and posted it on YouTube.
In less than two months, the video has racked up 1,117,627 views.
Mullen has received response e-mails from Ireland, Australia and all over Asia.
The event has been covered by local radio stations, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Washington Post and MSNBC, not excluding the debate in the comments section of the video on YouTube.
At universities across the nation, students and instructors ask whether laptops are a valuable tool or a distraction that should be outlawed.
Farhad Malekafzali, professor of political science at U. Illinois, is one of many instructors who have banned laptops in the classroom.
Malekafzali said he implemented the no-laptop policy after noticing the majority of students in his lecture with laptops were using them for things outside of class.
“Students use their laptops to surf the Internet or chat with friends,” he said. “I find that disruptive to other students and downright rude.”
Some students feel such a policy inhibits their ability to absorb what the instructor is saying.
Christina Jablonski, a U. Illinois sophomore, said she takes her laptop to every class.
“I listen a lot better when I type because I can type faster than I write,” Jablonski said.
“When I write, I’m paying attention to what I’m writing down and not listening to what the teacher is saying,” she said.
Steven Helle, U. Illinois professor of journalism, said laptops have the potential to contribute positively to class and suggested that by banning laptops, instructors may be fighting a losing battle.
“Students are texting like crazy already. If they aren’t using their laptops, they’re using their phones,” Helle said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but I don’t know that we’re going to stop it.”
Helle added that he has witnessed firsthand why professors have the no-laptop policy.
“I’ve sat in the back of a class and watched what students do on their laptops,” he said. “And it’s checking mail, doing all sorts of things except paying attention in class.”
However, there are students who do not use their laptops for distractions like Facebook or online gaming.
Karen Achtien, U. Illinois junior, said a strict no-laptop policy is questionable.
“Maybe I have something to do that’s important,” Achtien said. “Today, I brought my laptop to class because I had to register for classes. Thankfully, my instructor allowed laptops.”