Laptops No More?

Jan Novak, Associate Director jan.novak@law.csuohio.edu | May 08, 2008 - 09:42

Many law schools impose a mandatory lap top requirement; at Cleveland Marshall, over 90% of the students have their own laptop computers as it is. But there is also a backlash from faculty in some places claiming that laptop use in the classroom interferes with teaching and learning. We reported earlier about the University of Chicago Law School banning internet access in the classroom. Now Kevin Yamamoto has published “Banning Laptops in the Classroom: Is it Worth the Hassles?” (Journal of Legal Education, Vol. 57, 2008 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1078740 ), recounting his experience banning laptops in his classroom and citing studies on the effect of classroom web browsing on student grades, as well as the effectiveness of typing over handwriting for note-taking. Yamamoto concludes that professors should ban or restrict laptops absent a showing that their use increases learning.