Dr. Wayne McMullen spotted this item of interest:
An article in Friday's (October 14) Wall St. Journal will be of
interest to some readers of this blog. The piece details the unintended
consequences of bringing laptops and wireless Internet access into classrooms:
"[It] was supposed to enrich classroom discussions by, for example, allowing
students to import information from the Internet and share it with the rest of
the class. But instead some students are using their laptops to message
friends, shop online, peruse Web sites and pursue part-time jobs. The result:
There is a rising backlash against classroom computer use from professors and
schools." Some colleagues of mine at other universities describe in-class
experiences that are similar to those described in the article.
I got to this article by going to the Factiva database, set the date for October
14, and clicked on "Marketplace" from the pulldown menu.