Bildungsroman wrote:MrKappus wrote:Bildungsroman wrote:Just use your fountain pens on the mimeographed exams and write fast to save candlelight. This is simple stuff, people!
Seriously, though, a rule against laptops seems increasingly difficult to justify since the legal field, as every other field in the world it seems, is becoming increasingly digitized.
It's a stupid rule b/c it handicaps the pedagogical process, not b/c the field is "increasingly digitized." Surgery's "increasingly robotized," but med students still learn how to use a scalpel.
I am saying that there is no reasonable justification for restricting the use of laptops in class that can be based on the requirements of the profession after graduation. Actually, because lawyers are almost entirely dependent now on computers in their work (for research, for word processing, for organization, etc) removing this competency training from the classroom by banning these important tools of the trade actually works to the detriment of the law student. It not only handicaps the pedagogical process, it also holds students back from adapting their methods in class to the methods they will use in the profession. Do lawyers typically write up documents by hand, or do they type them? Do lawyers typically rely on notes taken by hand, or do they transcribe them with a computer? The fact that lawyers are increasingly reliant on computers means that the restriction on their use is not just hurting their ability to take notes, it's also hurting their ability to be lawyers. One major complaint I hear from law school graduates is that law school teaches the law, but it does a poor job of teaching a student how to be a lawyer. A laptop ban in class only contributes to that problem,
The reason your analogy is so stupid is that it compares apples and oranges. A surgeon learns to use a scalpel because they still need to use a scalpel frequently in their profession. Robotization of surgery is happening, but learning the core competency of scalpel work is still absolutely necessary to be a surgeon. A lawyer, however, does not need to learn how to take notes by hand beyond the basic competency that somebody already brings in that skill from their 12+ years of education up to that point. A lawyer is better served by being encouraged to use the technology that will define their career.
Faulty logic is faulty. In a classroom, the professor is presenting information and then discussing that information with students. It is a conversation. It is where you get the information that you later use to start that research which will then lead to your writing of that paper.
You say that lawyers don't need to take notes by hand or be able to "pedagogically" assimilate information without the aid of a computer.
Have you ever been interviewed by a lawyer? I have (on a couple occasions) and guess what? They didn't break out their laptops and start typing notes on what I said. They had a pen and paper and wrote down the important points.
Have you ever watched a real trial? I had a front row seat at a recent one and yes, the lawyers for both sides used computers. But NONE of the 4 lawyers involved took notes on their computers during open court. Every one of them used pens and paper to jot stuff down throughout the trial. (Noticing a theme here?)
You try to make a claim that by restricting laptop use in the classroom that professors are preventing you from "adapting their methods in class to the methods they will use in the profession" but in fact the exact opposite is true. You will NOT bust out a laptop to take notes while you are interviewing clients or having other discussions with other people involved in your work. You will either record the conversations or (more likely) you will take notes with a good ol' pen and paper.
After you have completed your interview with your client, you will start using the "important tools of the trade" to research, organize, and produce documents. Just like after class you will use those "important tools of the trade" to research, organize, study, and produce documents.
Don't get me wrong, I think banning laptops in class is a bad decision. But I certainly wouldn't try to use such a faulty line of reasoning to justify my position.
