WHEN UNIVERSITIES first began wiring dormitories with Ethernet, it was widely assumed that expanding students' opportunities to access the Internet would be beneficial to their educations, enabling them to conduct research and complete assignments more efficiently. More recently, wireless technology has further increased availability of Internet access on campuses, allowing students and faculty to connect in dining halls, outdoors and in classrooms. While the Internet has proven itself invaluable as an educational resource, we must encourage its responsible use: The availability of wireless Internet access in the classroom can often encourage disrespectful behavior towards professors and other students while thwarting the learning process.
It's a common observance in college classrooms that students bring in their laptops under the guise of taking notes. Well-intentioned as they may be, wireless Internet access proves tempting: Instant messaging, e-mail and online shopping, among other things, often command students' attention in class. It's no wonder that professors have begun to notice their students' failure to pay attention during lectures -- and we must ask ourselves what has led students to feel so comfortable behaving like this.
Our behavioral norms, for one thing, are rapidly changing as a result of technology's spread. Today, being "connected" has become the norm rather than the exception, and it's nearly impossible to escape it: Professionals rely on e-mail to communicate, cell phone rings commonly interrupt face-to-face conversations and most transactions can be conducted without actually talking to anybody. But as recently as 10 years ago, both Internet access and cell phones were considered luxuries rather than necessities. This new understanding of communicative technology as integral to our lives has given rise to a generational divide with respect to both proficiency in technological skills and also the rules of etiquette governing the use of technology.
It's evident that our most basic modes of communication today are actually altering the ways in which we interact. Perhaps most responsible for this development is the importance which cell phones have assumed in our lives: it's not often that most college students go anywhere without one. We're quick to interrupt our other interactions to take a phone call or check a voicemail. Cell phones constantly ring in restaurants, movie theaters and classrooms.
As a result of the widespread use of such technology, many have come to believe that these behaviors are socially acceptable -- personal communication has essentially taken priority in our lives. For example, it's common to observe University students text messaging their friends during lectures, as if the roughly 12.5 hours we spend in class per week is too much. What's important to note is that many do not desire to be outright disrespectful -- they simply judge their behaviors by a different standard.
We should be weary of allowing this to become the dominant mindset within the university setting, however. According to the Campus Computing Project, 31 percent of classrooms at U.S. colleges had wireless Internet access in 2004, and that percentage is constantly increasing, making this a timely concern.
To the Wall Street Journal reported that many institutions of higher education, including the University's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, have sought ways to block wireless Internet access in the classroom. However, this often comes at the expense of Internet access where it is needed -- in hallways, for example.
How should universities ideally respond? Obviously, they must do so in a manner which does not detract from the obvious benefits of wireless technology in the classroom; namely, students' ability to bring in useful information from the Internet, such as news articles. Some have proposed a light-switch which would allow professors to enable or disable Internet access at the classroom level. However, a faculty committee at UCLA's Anderson School of Management has concluded that developing such technology essentially requires engaging in "a technological arms race which [can't] be won," according to the Journal, noting that many cellular providers now provide internet access to their customers. In the end, it seems as if universities must contend and win in this arms race if they wish to avoid the disturbing consequences which are associated with many students' use of wireless technology in the classroom.
Todd Rosenbaum's column appears Thursdays Tn the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at trosenbaum@cavalierdaily.com.
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