Tim Childers’ Blog

Today, listening to NPR, I was intrigued to find that a university professor has banished laptops from his classroom.  In a discussion with Michelle Norris,

Daniel Coyne, a law professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, says laptops distract students from class discussion and cause them to repeat questions, rather than helping them multitask.

He says he’s observed students in class watching ball games, planning weddings, and chatting online rather than taking notes.

Later, he mentioned that even students taking notes on a legal pad have their laptops open and online.  I had to think about that for a few minutes.  I’m not sure how I feel about his decision, but it made me contemplate the way kids today learn.

On the KnowledgeWorks website, they put a pretty cool interactive map up that illustrates future trends impacting education.  This little quote was found there:

Fragmenting Preferences

People make their own worlds.  Extending the trend toward choice and customization in everything from media and appliances to food, health, and education, people are becoming more active participants in creating their own worlds, whether it means do-it-yourself home projects, peer-to-peer media exchanges, or open-source collaboration. The result: a much more personalized world.

These students need constant sensory stimulation or they become “bored.”  I cannot tell you how many times my kids (both natural and in class) have made that annoying statement to me: “I’m bored!”  Students in the computer labs are the most quiet when they are on websites that are greatly interactive (which being interpreted means online gaming).  No wonder they have difficulty concentrating when all they have before them is a PowerPoint slide and a lecturing adult.  Thank goodness for unitedstreaming video clips!  The shorter they are, the more impact they have.

In order to have an impact on Generation Z, the important word is “personalized.”  Isn’t that what Web 2.0 is all about?

So, what do you think about these students and their toys in the classroom?