The little AIM icon in the lower right hand corner of the laptop sometimes has a seemingly magnetic pull on the mouse. Then there's the nagging feeling that several new e-mails have probably found their way into the inbox since it was last checked, five minutes ago. Not to mention Solitare and Minesweeper being merely a click away.
However, along with the seemingly infinite distractions posed by having a laptop in class, students note numerous benefits. Typing can be much faster than writing, illegible handwriting is not an issue and looking up words or researching is easily accomplished.
Moreover, when used appropriately, laptops truly can enhance an educational setting. Portability can be a great benefit when it comes to field trips and reports, and presentations can be created right in the classroom. Graphs, tables and charts can be created and analyzed in a matter of seconds.
Nonetheless, while some students are eager to take advantage of the benefits posed by bringing a laptop to class, most seem to agree that laptops can be very distracting.
"I don't bring my laptop to class," first-year Engineering student Jessica Bashkoff said. "People bring them and act like they're doing work, but really, they're just messing around online."
Most students seem to agree.
"I just use paper, but I still get distracted if I'm sitting behind people using facebook or AIM," second-year College student Melanie Hughes said.
Other students find taking notes on paper to be easier.
"I'm just entirely too lazy to carry my laptop around with me all day," third-year College student Veronica Brooks said.
Furthermore, many students find laptops are inconvenient for copying certain types of notes.
"I like being able to write and draw diagrams," first-year College student Danielle Sileo said. Taking notes on paper "has been more effective for me."
On the other hand, some students find laptops to be very useful. Third-year College student Drewry Nickerson said she used a tablet laptop for her biochemistry class last semester.
"It was useful because I could write directly on the slides on the computer," Nickerson said. "And for the people I do see using laptops, it seems pretty useful. But [it can be] hard formatting notes."
Students who are concerned about getting distracted are not alone. First-year Engineering student Chris Heywood said one of his professors is particularly concerned with students not paying attention as a result of having a laptop in class, and has resolved to do something about it.
The class has two professors and one professor "sits in the back of the class and theoretically is looking at people's screens" to make sure they are not using their laptops for something besides class work, according to Heywood.
"The syllabus says 'Web surfing during lecture is punishable by one letter grade reduction for each infraction,'" he said.
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