While some professors at UTM require students to use their smartphones or laptops in class, others have banned them during their lectures.
Most students prefer to type their notes rather than handwrite them. For many, typing is simply the quicker option of the two. However, in several professors’ classes around campus, this is not allowed.
Students like Katie Long, a sophomore Communications major, say this is an inconvenience for them.
“In class, I use my laptop for notes, to get quick access to Blackboard and if the teacher is talking about something I truly do not understand, then I Google it or look up images. I don’t get on Facebook,” Long said.
Long says that while she realizes some do take advantage of laptop use, there are still students who use technology for academic purposes.
“I understand that some bad apples can ruin the whole bunch with Facebook and email, but I think I deserve a chance to prove myself to a professor. I will gladly sit in the front row if that is what it takes for me to use technology,” Long said.
Some professors, like Dr. James Maples, an assistant professor of Sociology, encourage the use of laptops in the classroom. Others, like Dr. Wesley Totten, allow laptops in the class but make sure to monitor the students who are using them.
“Tablet and laptop usage is allowed if they are being used to take notes; this requires me to observe those on tablet and laptops periodically,” Totten said. “It is my philosophy that a student cannot learn effectively if they are not engaging the notes and what the professor has to say; this is regardless of how well a student thinks he or she can multi-task.”
Long also believes she can catch more of what is being said in class by typing.
“I type so much faster than I write. Spell-check is a lifesaver too; I can just backspace instead of having to erase and start over. I believe I get 50 percent more of what is said when I type notes compared to when I write them,” Long said.
There are several other professors on the UTM campus who believe laptops, smartphones and tablets are bigger distractions than learning aids. However, for students like Long, technology has proven to be more beneficial.
