I'm a CS student at CMU. In my experience, most of the students who use their laptops during lectures (or alternatively don't attend class) are the brilliant ones who understand the material straight from the book and do well on tests anyway. Those who can't afford to not pay attention in class by surfing the internet or playing games simply don't. For example, a few weeks ago a friend of mine who programs and reads slashdot during matrix algebra lectures and never takes notes got 100 on an exam while I, after taking notes and studying every night for about a week, got a 97. In my calc class, another person I know who writes blog entries in every single lecture scored 99 on the latest exam.
As long as students understand the material (and show it by doing well on tests and assignments), I don't see any problem with having internet access in classrooms. Provided that students are held accountable for their learning through exam grades (it's easier to cheat on assignments, so they don't always demonstrate mastery), there's really not much that can "ruin college" as far as learning goes.
The most obnoxious/distracting thing I've seen anyone do on a laptop in class is play stepmania and make lots of noise with their keyboards. But even then, anyone can easily ask them to stop or move to another seat.
How would the charging times of wireless chargers compare to those of wired ones? (I gather that it would take longer to charge something, but how much longer?)
Slashdot Mirror
Something like this has already been done at the CMU nanorobotics lab.
I'm a CS student at CMU. In my experience, most of the students who use their laptops during lectures (or alternatively don't attend class) are the brilliant ones who understand the material straight from the book and do well on tests anyway. Those who can't afford to not pay attention in class by surfing the internet or playing games simply don't. For example, a few weeks ago a friend of mine who programs and reads slashdot during matrix algebra lectures and never takes notes got 100 on an exam while I, after taking notes and studying every night for about a week, got a 97. In my calc class, another person I know who writes blog entries in every single lecture scored 99 on the latest exam.
As long as students understand the material (and show it by doing well on tests and assignments), I don't see any problem with having internet access in classrooms. Provided that students are held accountable for their learning through exam grades (it's easier to cheat on assignments, so they don't always demonstrate mastery), there's really not much that can "ruin college" as far as learning goes.
The most obnoxious/distracting thing I've seen anyone do on a laptop in class is play stepmania and make lots of noise with their keyboards. But even then, anyone can easily ask them to stop or move to another seat.
Another way to get free cell calls
*ducks*
How would the charging times of wireless chargers compare to those of wired ones? (I gather that it would take longer to charge something, but how much longer?)