Transcript Educational Video Clips in Distance Education

Video Presentation is available at:
faculty.uoit.ca/kay/laptop
Benefits and Challenges
of Using Laptops
in Higher Education Classrooms
Dr. Robin Kay
UOIT – Oshawa, Canada
Context – Tension
Digital
Natives
(Ubiquitous)
Laptop
Ownership
(88%)
Classroom
Tension
Wireless
Access
(Ubiquitous)
Attention
Span
(10 min)
Lecture
(50%-80%)
In the news …
Professors Ban Laptops in College Classrooms to Avoid Distractions
Washington Post, April 25, 2010
Put Away That Laptop: Professors Pull The Plug
NPR
Bad News : More College Banning Laptops
Notebook.com
What does the research say?
Benefits
Challenges
Why another study?
Patchwork of Results
Validity & Reliability Limited
Current Study
Context
Sample
Method
Results
Context
Laptops
(All students)
Small
University
Study
Active Use of
Laptops
Social Studies
Sample
177 students
(89 males, 88 females)
Year 1(42%)
Year 2(33%)
Year 3(17%)
Year 4( 7%)
Sample
14% ESL
85% proficient at
using computers
Method
End of Course Survey
Voluntary
10-15 min
Likert & Open Ended
34% response rate
Results - Benefits







Average use - 8.8 hours per day
72% reported laptop was helpful
Note taking most prevalent
In-class academic activities also prevalent
Laptops help collaboration process
30% of students use Instant messaging for academics
Twice as many positive comments



Note taking
Helped focus students
Good resources available in class
Results – Challenge






50% find other student’s laptop use distracting
43% find the Internet distracting
25% find Instant Messaging distracting
16% participate in watching Pornography
10% send personal Emails
Negative Comments about distractions



Instant messaging
Playing games
Movies
Current vs. Previous Studies
Previous studies used traditional
lectures with laptops
This study used active learning
strategies with laptop
Context – Tension
Digital
Natives
(Ubiquitous)
Laptop
Ownership
(88%)
Classroom
Tension
Wireless
Access
(Ubiquitous)
Attention
Span
(10 min)
Lecture
(50%-80%)
Solution
Digital
Natives
(Ubiquitous)
Laptop
Ownership
(88%)
Engagement
Wireless
Access
(Ubiquitous)
Attention
Span
(10 min)
Active
Learning
Bottom Line
If you don’t use the laptop as a teaching tool in class,
It will most certainly become a distraction!
Contact Information
Email:
robin.kay@uoit.ca
Website: faculty.uoit.ca/kay/home
Dr. Robin Kay
Associate Professor