people dont use them for anything relevent

2/22/2006 7:46:36 PM

^ not true. Then again i'm in csc. I'd say at least 40% of us are doing something quite important/useful on ours.

2/22/2006 8:09:16 PM

i dont think i have never seen anyone doing anything relevent to class in an ece or csc class
except maybe once or twice someone was actually taking notes on a tablet
other than that all i see is

AIM
slashdot
sports
other news
email
watching movies
playing emulators

why do you even come to class if you are going to do this shit

[Edited on February 22, 2006 at 8:24 PM. Reason : even if it is a CSC class -- it is just a lecture, you are going to be doing yourwork outsideofclass]

2/22/2006 8:23:11 PM

^agreed, it is fucking annoying

2/22/2006 8:24:40 PM

in some classes, the class lecture notes are provided in pdf. so instead of printing out 40-50 pages of lecture notes, it's better to just bring the laptop to class and look over it.

2/22/2006 8:27:55 PM

^ can you really not just look up at the overhead.

2/22/2006 8:29:23 PM

stipulating that people can look at class notes their laptop, it means that it's relevant to class.

even if someone's surfing the internet on their laptop, why should it bother you, as long as they're being unobtrusive about it?

2/22/2006 8:33:04 PM

and this affects you how?
--

i use my laptop during my modeling class, and that's because the entire class is matlab based and we're developing code during lecture, and trying things out.

don't generalize.

2/22/2006 8:33:08 PM

^ lab != lecture

[Edited on February 22, 2006 at 8:36 PM. Reason : ^^ it is disrespectful -- and it can be distracting just for someone near you to have a laptop open]

2/22/2006 8:34:35 PM

Quote :

"AIM slashdot sports other news email watching movies playing emulators"

TWW too. I gotta peep over the dude's shoulder to find out what his username is but he's such a geek.

2/22/2006 8:35:49 PM

the class i was referring to has no lab, lecture is where it all goes down.

and hell, being in an ece class i've looked stuff up online during lecture for better clarification on mathworld or whatever, and that's helped.

2/22/2006 8:39:26 PM

^i am not saying that they are not useful in all classes
but as a general rule they should be banned
unless a class uses them.

2/22/2006 8:42:04 PM

i don't have a laptop, but i tend to doodle during class. you could argue that it's disrespectful that i'm not devoting my full attention to the professor. however, i can still take notes on all the information presented.

as i see it, a laptop can be used the same way. it's possible to type out notes (some people prefer that) and simultaneously read the news. if you know it's a distraction to you, sit front and center.

sure, it's possible for the professor to say "i don't want any laptops in my class," but i'm willing to bet that most of them don't care if you pass or fail. and they probably figure that students who don't pay attention to the lecture (ie, fiddle around on their laptop) are more likely to fail.

[Edited on February 22, 2006 at 8:52 PM. Reason : V i suppose that's true...it's just that i can generally block out stuff if it's not important]

2/22/2006 8:46:49 PM

^ it is more distracting to those around laptop users than most realize

2/22/2006 8:48:19 PM

i didn't say i used a laptop. just trying to say other people do, and they like to write notes on the lecture notes using their laptops.

can you not just look away from other people's laptop?

2/22/2006 9:05:06 PM

If we weren't meant to have laptops in class, then why do they give us Access Points in the classrooms? My laptop comes in quite handy no matter what class I'm in. I do all my work on it. And yes, I do surf during class. So fuck off if you don't like it.

2/22/2006 10:04:56 PM

if your distracted by a laptop sit in the front row. Problem solved

2/22/2006 10:19:28 PM

I sat next to a girl who brought one everyday to class and she had super long fingernails- all you could hear was TAP, TAP, TAP the WHOLE time. It was annoying.

2/22/2006 10:22:12 PM

802.11 coverage in classrooms is the worst idea ever
WHO THE FUCK CAME UP WITH THIS SHIT

2/23/2006 12:59:26 AM

someone needs to go to mindyourownfuckinshit town

2/23/2006 1:15:18 AM

yeah man, wtf. why do you care what everyone else in class does. If it isnt interfereing with your classroom experience(and I dont see how it could be), then why bitch. If anything, it is lowering the grade of that person due to them not paying attention and thereby improving yours if there is a curve. Quit being a baby.

2/23/2006 1:22:29 AM

I have two professors that talk pretty fast while they are lecturing and if I were to write the notes that I needed out on paper I'd be behind within the first five minutes of the lecture. The laptop makes things much much easier for me. Although it doesn't help with my carpral tunnel.

The only thing that annoys me is that my laptop has a loud fan when it's on battery or AC power but I tend to put something in front of it to drown out half the sound.

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 2:42 AM. Reason : ...]

2/23/2006 2:41:30 AM

For whatever its worth, I've been given a friendly piece of advice not to bring my laptop to any meetings at work unless I'm presenting.

Btw, if you get rid of laptops, you'll also need to get rid of cell phones, mp3 players, video game watches, and pretty much anything that has a battery in it. Good luck with that one.

2/23/2006 6:36:55 AM

yeah, i agree with Perlith. You start banning laptops, and then cell phones are gonna start getting banned as well.

2/23/2006 8:46:49 AM

Quote :

"You start banning laptops, and then cell phones are gonna start getting banned as well."

I wouldn't really mind that too much. Aside from an occasional emergency, you don't really need them in class. We did at one time get along fine without them. There is just no need to just have a conversation with your friend on the phone in the middle of class.

2/23/2006 10:48:11 AM

i am still confused as to how someone with a labtop in class hurts you....

2/23/2006 11:11:25 AM

he just wants to whine.

2/23/2006 11:33:05 AM

laptops can be annoying, but the ppl who use them responsibly shouldn't lose out b/c the ppl who use them for unrelated activities. i've not taken a laptop to class since i was a freshman, but i have horrible handwriting & can't always read it in classes where the prof goes really fast & i'm writing really fast. having grown over time into a better note taker & able to remember more without reading the notes the handwriting isnt a problem, but I can imagine some people have real nigh-disability level situations where laptops would be helpful.

maybe banning them for classes that are more interactive but allowing them for lecture classes would be better to cut down on their use...

i wouldn't be opposed to laptop sections in the back or something like that, if you are going to make all the tapping noise, & have the fan going then sit away from the other students... but I don't think people who make good use of laptops should be disallowed from bringing them.

2/23/2006 12:09:49 PM

Quote :

"but I can imagine some people have real nigh-disability level situations where laptops would be helpful. "

high level disabilities, maybe?
but the response to that is...what about people with LDs who are adversely affected by laptops in classes? and audio learners?

(btw, my response to that is if an unmedicated person with severe ADHD can tune out laptops, the rest of you can)

2/23/2006 12:40:45 PM

Let's punish the responsible users for the actions of a few.

In any case, what do you care if somebody's chatting on IM or playing solitaire in class? Are they making any noise or being disruptive? There's a good chance that the teacher will call them out if they are. Besides, they're not paying attention to the lecture and you are, so you get to laugh in their faces when they fail the next test whereas you ace it.

2/23/2006 1:37:25 PM

People with laptops in class make me laugh.

In my GD200 class this guy had a background of an arab model (female, of course) leading a camel through the desert.

I was just wondering who in the hell thought that was a great idea.

Although she was pretty easy on the eyes.

2/23/2006 2:18:40 PM

^^i disagree that they will get called out on their improper laptop use as i have never seen an occurance as such in my 3 years of having laptops used for AIM, internet, etc. in my ECE classes. however i agree with the consensus of the thread, if someone on their computer is bothering you, sit front and center and you won't have that problem. and i don't know how someone using their laptop for AIM or solitaire can really bother someone in the first place, surely something that insignificant would not be able to slow down the academic pursuit of an educated college student.

2/23/2006 3:43:40 PM

Let's also not forget the amount of emphasis that is being placed on technology integration INTO the classroom. You won't see laptops disappear anytime soon.

2/23/2006 4:32:43 PM

but with enough complaining we might could see stricter regulation... which might not seem bad at first... but once you have the bureaucracy making a standard list of how computer monitoring is to be done & you give that list to a creative writing professor to understand and implement...things could get bad.

i say either leave it alone (especially so that the ppl who use them right aren't punished) or set up laptop sections in the back of the class.

2/23/2006 4:43:11 PM

i really dont understand all this complaining.

why do you people give a shit what other people do on their laptops in class? if they've got the babe of the day up you can't rip your eyes off their screen thats your problem. other than the noise of someone beating the shit of their keyboard, i dont see what you have to complain about.

and yeah, in this the powerpoint age its much more efficent to pull up the powerpoint and make notes there rather then killing trees to print shit out. and if the lecture gets boring, do something else.

Quote :

"802.11 coverage in classrooms is the worst idea ever WHO THE FUCK CAME UP WITH THIS SHIT"

i can't tell if you're a shitty troll or if you are really this ignorant. that goes for about half the wolfweb tho...

2/23/2006 6:23:00 PM

people who can't keep their fuckin mouth shut during class are far more distracting then people with laptops i must say.

2/23/2006 6:57:09 PM

i guess there should also be a loud-&-cant-shut-up section in the room too

2/23/2006 7:07:41 PM

This is preparing you for the real world, where you're going to have to quit being a fucking pussy and ignore distractions around you. If you honestly can't concentrate because a guy beside you has a laptop, you need to either take some ritalin or kill yourself.

Quote :

"my laptop has a loud fan when it's on battery or AC power"

So you mean your computer has a loud fan? Does it have a biodiesel backup or something?

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 7:21 PM. Reason : .]

2/23/2006 7:19:12 PM

my laptop doubles as a mp3 player if its in my bookbag and i got my headphones

2/23/2006 7:27:23 PM

Who the fuck cares if we use it for anything relevant? That's not the point, the point in many classes is to stay awake and look busy. Why does it affect you either way?

2/23/2006 10:10:28 PM

nc state is one of the "25 (or is it 50?) most connected campuses in the us" so banning laptops isn't gonna happen...that would just be a step back that the university isn't wanting to take

2/23/2006 10:41:37 PM

I dont understand why people should give a shit what the other kids are doing on there own computer.... If you were paying attention to what the teacher was doing on the board you wouldnt even notice what they were using their computer for. Also, I think it is better for kids to come to class and talk on aim than not come at all. If nothing else they will hear anything really important the teacher says on due dates etc and maybe listen some 2.

2/24/2006 1:28:11 AM

how is it not distracting to have a big backlit screen with constantly changing images in your line of sight during lecture?

some people can ignore it, I'm sure, but there are going to be people for whom it's distracting.



If you want to be inconsiderate to other people in your classes, fine, but don't pretend that you aren't doing anything wrong.

2/24/2006 3:16:31 AM

fuck your education...

i'm here to play motherfuckers.


you don't like it? get da fuck out!

2/24/2006 3:55:50 AM

If they could give the professors the ability to turn off the access point...

2/24/2006 11:33:45 AM

fuck you. laptops in class forever. i take notes on mine because i dont feel like handwriting. so shut the fuck up.

2/24/2006 11:54:02 AM

^^even if wireless is turned off its not like you still cant play games on your computer or do whatever you want instead of taking notes. im just pointing out that turning off wireless wouldnt do shit. whiners go away.

2/24/2006 11:56:12 AM

I have one professor who doesn't allow laptops in class.
She also gives people hell if she hears their phone ring in class.

Another professor encourages laptops but there's no need for internet access.
Not that I really care... some of the net addicts crashed and burned on the first test and he grades on a curve, so that can only help me.

2/24/2006 12:17:26 PM

guess what, im in class right now looking at porn, downloading illegal mp3s, playing yahoo pool, and playing music through itunes. omg ban laptops

2/24/2006 12:50:22 PM

[Edited on February 24, 2006 at 5:14 PM. Reason : ]

2/24/2006 5:07:29 PM