Skylar Ewing College Prep Summary/ Response Essay January 17, 2017 Lose the Laptops Harry Wong said, “In an effective classroom students should not only know what they are doing. They should also know why and how.” The best way for students to know what they are learning is to get them involved in class. There are different ways to achieve engagement from the students in the classroom. In the article, “Leave Your Laptops at the Door to My Classroom” Darren Rosenblum talks about his personal experience with laptops and other devices in his classroom; he also explains why banning laptops from the classroom is beneficial to the students. I agree with Rosenblum when he explains how banning laptops in classrooms helps students develop skills, get involved, and understand concepts in the classroom. In the article, Rosenblum writes about how eliminating laptops in a classroom is beneficial to the students. Rosenblum believes the two most important skills for a student to learn are communicating and listening. He wants to get rid of laptops and other devices in his classroom to help develop these skills. Focus is key to achieving these skills, according to Rosenblum. He goes on to explain that laptops cause distractions within the classroom. Rosenblum proves his point by banning laptops from his classroom, and he claims the engagement and involvement in class increased. He says, “One study found that laptops or tablets consistently undermine exam performance by 1.7 percent” (Rosenblum par. 6). Rosenblum claims that students who handwrite notes instead of using a laptop or other device are able to retain more information. He believes students can benefit just by taking laptops out of the classrooms and encouraging them to take handwritten notes. Rosenblum believes handwriting notes takes longer, but students better understand what they are learning when they handwrite notes. He says, “Students process information better when they take notes- they don’t just transcribe, as they do with laptops, but they think and record those thoughts” (Rosenblum par. 6). I agree with this statement because, although it is true that typing notes is easier, in my personal experiences I remember more notes that I write out than I do notes that I typed. Notes that I write out are written in more detail. When I am typing notes I often use bullet points to sum up the information. I am also more likely to write in complete thoughts and sentences when I handwrite notes. Besides the fact that students remember more information when handwriting notes, Rosenblum also points out that laptops are distractions in the classroom. Rosenblum goes on to talk about laptops and other devices becoming more of a distraction and less of a tool. He states, “Screens block us from connecting, whether at dinner or in a classroom” (Rosenblum par. 6). I believe this statement is accurate because I have witnessed it first hand. During dinner my family has made a similar rule to Rosenblum’s rule, we can not have our cell phones at the table. There is a noticeable difference when we set aside our screens and have an uninterrupted conversation. However, my mother often breaks the rule and brings her phone to the table. When this happens she is usually absent in our conversations and clueless about what we are talking about. When we are on devices, whether it is a laptop or a phone, we lose the connection with others around us. As Harry Wong says, getting students to know what is happening in the classroom is important. In the article “Leave Your Laptops at the Door to My Classroom,” Darren Rosenblum explains why he believes that eliminating distractions, specifically laptops and other devices, students will have more connection and interaction in the classroom. He explains that students learn more information handwriting notes, and students build better connections without screens in the classroom. Overall, I agree with Rosenblum and the points he makes in his article.
Works Cited Rosenblum, Danner. “Leave Your Laptops at the Door to My Classroom.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/opinion/leave-your-laptops-at-the-door-to-my-classroom.html?_r=0.