Some University of Groningen (RUG) professors are asking students not to use their laptops during class.
RUG news site Ukrant spoke with Dutch literature professorJanneke Weiermans and International public law professor Marcel Brus who noticed that students get too distracted by other things going on on their laptops and were doing other things, like watching videos, playing games or texting. Janne Weiermans talked about one time when suddenly a group of students started cheering in the lecture hall: Dutch ice skater Sven Kramer had won the gold medal for the 5km, and they just got a notification.
Instead of laptops, they want students to use pen and paper. Weiermans says, “A lot of students still thank me for it”. Even though she wouldn’t force it on anyone, she says she would definitely recommend it.
Marcel Brus already banned the laptops in his classes 5 years ago. He saw too many students on Facebook or Instagram. “If you’re in the back of a lecture hall, you only see a sea of moving screens, it’s just distracting,” he said.
He noticed that students don’t get distracted by their own screens anymore, but also not by others while they actually try and pay attention. He also said that visibility is important. “Without laptop screens, teaching is easier. We see each other. No one is hiding behind screens, Brus said.”
Ukrant claimed that most students respond positively to such changes. Students said they concentrate more and they notice that their notes are easier to remember when written down.
“When I take notes on my laptop, I might as well not have gone to the lecture,” said one of those students, Kim Hartog who studies Dutch language and literature.
