Laptops And Law Students: A Bad Combo?

Think carefully about your laptop use in the classroom, as it can be a tool or a hindrance.

Upset businessman at laptopIt is getting to be that time of year again when law students ponder whether or not they should use laptops in the classroom, whether or not the professors who bar laptops are evil trolls, and why profs just generally make such a big deal about those darned laptops.  Regardless of where you stand in the great debate, this column will help you.

Let’s start with all the reasons taking notes on a laptop is bad for you:

  1. You learn better when you take handwritten notes. Studies have found that those who take handwritten notes statistically perform better than those who type, including those who type lectures verbatim.   Part of it is that typing is a mindless activity:  You are merely taking dictation.  In handwriting notes, you have to digest and process that information and restate it.  It also apparently enhances memory through the movements — muscle memory, as it were.If you ever watch spelling bees, you sometimes see kids doing this. They will write out a word 100 times and then write it out on their hand as they spell the word aloud.  That’s the principle here.
  1. You think you’re better at multitasking than you truly are. Students notoriously check messages, chat, tweet, shop, pay bills, read Above the Law, or otherwise “disconnect” from the course while connecting online.  Multitasking is wearing you out and making you less productive later.  Also, you’re probably tuning in more to that which is interesting, and that probably isn’t class.  In other words, that quick check of Twitter is longer than you think, and you’re missing more of class than you think. By the way, you aren’t even really multitasking.  You are engaging in an optimism bias that could impact your grade.
  1. You think the answer is in the outline you have from a different student from another year, or some other materials. Trust me, it’s not.  I frequently find students looking down at their computers when I ask questions.  True, part of that is to avoid my gaze so that they are not called, but part of it is a search for answers. Riiiight. Because I don’t read the casebook and don’t know what’s in last year’s outlines, I’ll just ask questions with answers readily found there.  Not.  Casebook authors know this well.  Students whip out case briefs and start reading them to the professor.  Such recitations are neither learning nor understanding the material
  1. You can expect to see laptops in the courtroom and in practice, so why not in the classroom? The laptop in a courtroom is a tool, like any other.  It facilitates litigation in a variety of ways.  But the mastery of the case comes before the laptop is pulled up in the courtroom, and most certainly doesn’t come from multitasking with it.

Okay, so you have notice that laptops are not the best way to take notes and engage in the classroom. Why do law professors ban them when you’re an adult and can make your own decisions?  Here are a few of the reasons why your laptop affects more than just you:

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  1. All we profs see are the backs of your screens. Students use laptops as hiding mechanisms for professors who cold call.  We have no ability to see if you understand the material.  You aren’t thinking about the course when you’re checking out Twitter, so we can’t tell if we need to go into detail further or whether you really understand.  That fake nodding you do doesn’t help, either.
  2. We professors aren’t stupid. We know when you’re chatting with one another.  We know when you are looking at other materials.  When you smile and we didn’t say anything funny, we know you’re not with us in class, or maybe someone is making a joke about us and we’re not in on it.  Or maybe you are being mean to a fellow student who just tried to answer a question.  Regardless, it isn’t good.
  3. While you are trying to type what we say verbatim, you are missing other points. It’s frustrating when students are on their laptops and are five steps behind.  Sometimes it is for legitimate reasons, like trying frantically to synthesize a discussion.  Other times, it isn’t.  Profs end up having to repeat when it probably wasn’t necessary.
  4. You lie to us. “I’m sorry, I was taking notes.  Can you repeat the question?”  Maybe you were, but I’m betting from that click I just heard you were checking sports scores in another open window.
  5. You distract others sitting around you. One of my students spent a good part of a class shopping for something that he probably didn’t want his colleagues to see.  However, because he was sitting in the front row, all behind him saw that for which he was shopping.

Most professors who have decided to allow laptops don’t do so lightly.  They realize you are adults and trust you to make your own informed decisions.  Those who ban laptops don’t think you are children: They believe in the educational process and that you should get the most for your tuition dollar. They are trying to help you and improve the classroom setting.

Regardless, think carefully about your laptop use in the classroom.  It’s a tool, when used properly.  But it can also be a hindrance, to both you and the professor.


LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here and on Twitter. Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

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