The Ultimate Decision

By Michael Kang

Although computers are a very useful resource, they can also be a very strong distraction, especially in class. In the pursuit for higher education, personal computers are frequently used and are basically necessities; however, are having computers out during class necessary? According to Andy Guess in his article, "[T]he University of Chicago Law School announced that internet access would be blocked from classrooms...there's been an uproar among students and even senior administrators..." Andy Guess quotes Dean Saul Levmore, the Dean of the University of Chicago Law School, "... we have a growing problem in the form of the distractions presented by internet surfing in the classroom. You know better than I that for many students class has come to consist of some listening but also plenty of e-mailing, news browsing, and gossip-site visiting. Many students say that the visual images on classmates' screens are diverting and they too eventually go off track and check e-mail, sometimes to return to the class discussion and sometimes barely so." Not only have faculty and administrators noticed this issue, but also have "visitors [reported] that the rate of distracting internet usage during class is astounding."