Are Laptops Useful In Class

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Are Laptops Useful in Class?

Currently, laptops are embraced as vital technological tools fundamental in the

classroom. Different researchers have focused on identifying the usefulness of laptops in the

classroom. Both parents and the educators focus on determining the new learning tools, which

help the students in attaining their academic potential. Debates have emerged on whether laptops

promote or hinder learning. Therefore, A variety of experimentations have been conducted in

several schools to determine whether laptops are useful in classroom or not. Samson (1), in his

research, focused on identifying how laptops can be used in large lecture classes to enhance

engagement and attentiveness. In this study, Samson (1) found out that current technology, such

as the use of laptops in class increased attentiveness, according to a survey among students.

However, some students pointed out that the availability of laptops in the classroom could be

destructive. The study results, nonetheless, depicted that laptops influence students positively

through deliberate engagement, promote learning and attentiveness. Fried (906), on the other

hand, focused on determining how the use of laptops in the classroom affects learning. The

author was motivated by the debate on whether laptops promote or hinder learning. From this

study, Fried (906) found out that the use of laptops in class enhanced multitasking among the

students, thereby reducing concentration and causing distractions. Consequently, this paper

discusses laptops as useful in class despite their capacity to cause distraction through

multitasking among the learners.

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Samson (1) asserts that large classes make it difficult for many students to concentrate

and understand the lesson. The reason is because of the reduced likelihood of attentiveness,

engagement and inquiry in areas where a student may fail to comprehend. Additionally, the large

lecture classes limit the opportunity for the students to interact with their instructor and ask

course-related questions (Samson 2). Thus, internet technology has emerged as an opportunity to

enhance class interaction between the instructor and the students, and vice versa. Through close

interaction, a highly active learning environment is generated. According to critical evidence, the

deliberate use of laptops in the classroom promotes constructive discourse between the learners,

and between learners and the instructors.

In numerous large lecture classes, the learning environment created is often intimidating

and detached to the learners. In most cases, few students concentrate and engage the instructor

during the class (Samson 2). Additionally, learning in such environments is termed as passive as

opposed to active learning. Through the use of Lecture Tools accommodated by laptops, there is

increased engagement, which creates an opening for further discussion even after the class.

Similarly, the use of laptops in class also enables for peer discussions, which promotes follow-

ups on crucial points and opinions of the instructor. Laptop use also makes it easier for the

students to store the notes taken and synchronize them with slides to recap after the lecture.

Furthermore, learners can even print the notes for discussion and revision purposes. Laptop use

also fosters metacognition as students demonstrate their understanding of key concepts, which

improves their learning outcomes (Samson 3).

The lecture page in laptops facilitates the students to conduct numerous tasks that

promote learning. Foremost, students can typewrite notes and sync them with the lecture

materials. Secondly, the page enables self-assessment pertaining the comprehension of the

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learning material. Thirdly, learners can engage the instructors and ask vital questions that aid

understanding. Fourthly, learners can attempt various exercises and access the answers to gauge

their knowledge. Moreover, learners can draw, enlarge slides and save their work using laptops.

Lastly, students can access any material uploaded by the instructor, and print the necessary

learning material (Samson 4). The current development of the smartphones has also offered

another platform for the possible devices that could be useful in the classroom. Through the

internet-enabled mobile phones, students can take part in an interactive environment that

improves learning (Samson 5).

Based on the findings of the study, it was apparent that distraction is always present in

the classroom even before the development of technology (Samson, 6). Henceforth, it is evident

that laptops do not contribute to distraction in classrooms, but could be used to improve

interaction, attentiveness and engagement in lecture classes. Furthermore, Samson (7)

determined that most of the students preferred the use of Lecture Tools as opposed to clickers.

The reason is that Lecture Tools are highly interactive, easily accessible and have many note-

taking options for the learners.

Fried (906) in his researcher found out that the use of laptops in class negatively affected

performance, self-reports on the understanding of coursework and learning. Through the use of

laptops in class, students can consult or comment to other students silently without distracting

others. However, no existing evidence proves whether this activity is useful to the students.

Citing from different research studies, Fried (907) purports that educators should decline the use

of laptops in class due to the uncertainty on the effects of laptops on the learning process. Hence,

there is the need to conduct further research on the impact of laptop use on the learning process

before enabling students to use their computers in class.

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Based on this study, Fried (909) necessitated the participating students to report on their

class attendance, whether their used laptops during lectures, time spent on note taking in

comparison to non-learning activities and how they use their laptops. The results showed that

more than 60% of the participants had used their laptops during lectures (Fried 910). The

learners also reported that using laptops enabled them to multitask, meaning that they could do

other activities apart from taking notes. Some of these activities as reported by the participants

included instant messaging, checking emails, browsing and playing games (Fried 910). Thus, it

is apparent that the use of laptops in the classroom led to distraction as most of the users engaged

in other activities, which affected their engagement and concentration. The research, hence,

confirms that the use of laptops in class has dire consequences for the students and effects their

performance in class.

Personally, I think that laptops are useful in class because of the following reasons.

Foremost, laptops promote efficient note taking because note taking by hand is tiresome and

time-consuming. By using laptops, electronic note taking is flexible and quicker. Besides, it

permits the students to organize their study materials efficiently for easy understanding. Notably,

learners can quickly search information in the written notes using keywords and shared notes. It

is also easy to store and back up notes for long periods of time as opposed to bookkeeping.

Besides, since laptops are portable, students can access notes from different classes quickly.

Secondly, the use of laptops in class facilitates group work. Group work is critical for academic

performance as enables students to learn from the strengths of other students. Henceforth, by

using laptops, students can meet anywhere with the access to all the learning material necessary

such as lecture notes, journals, online information, videos and other relevant data, which

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promotes discussion. Additionally, students can share notes and relevant information, which

improves their understanding of key lectures.

Lastly, laptop use in class fosters online collaboration among the learners. Besides, it

offers additional information and curriculum support, which equips the learners with the proper

knowledge on various courses. Laptops also enhance the organization of work as students can

follow up on assignments and class schedules. Moreover, the use of laptops also enables the

instructor to provide feedback on assignments digitally, pinpointing the changes needed for

perfection. Finally, laptop use improves the students’ computer skills in the current rapid

technologically advancing world.

In summary, laptop use in class has stirred debates on whether it promotes or deters

learning. Samson (1) claims that the use of laptops in class enhances engagement, attentiveness

and class performance for students. Despite the use of laptops distracting students from the

learning process, it is clear that its benefits to the learners outweigh the costs according to

Samson (1). Fried (906), on the contrary, believes that laptops contribute to multitasking, thereby

causing distraction among the learners. Using laptops in class triggers the learners to engage in

non-productive activities such as playing games, checking emails and instant messaging.

Personally, I think that computers are used in the classroom because they enable note taking, and

foster group work and online collaboration.

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Works Cited

Fried, Carrie B. "In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning." Computers &

Education 50.3 (2008): 906-914.

Samson, Perry J. "Deliberate engagement of laptops in large lecture classes to improve

attentiveness and engagement." Computers in Education 1.2 (2010): 1-19.

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