Just wondering if this is standard policy now that many laptops come equipped with recording devices? I purchased a laptop specifically for note taking when I began a 2 year nursing program in fall 2007. I am now in the first semester of the 2nd year and we've been told it's a new policy that we're not allowed to use laptops in class. I have never used my computer's recording device to record a lecture (I really doubt it's high quality enough to pick up a lecture, anyway) and I would gladly let my instructor verify this after each class, if necessary.
Does this sound like a common policy or is this another sign that our nursing program is a joke? I'd like to see how the nursing faculty would survive if their computers were pulled from them. I also find it almost laughable that in a world where health care is becoming increasingly dependent on computers, and computer proficiency is becoming a job requirement for nurses, that we're not allowed to use this technology in our classrooms.
I'm so frustrated...do you think it would be worth the effort to fight this new policy? I'm not sure it would do us much good because our faculty is pretty closed minded. Any suggestions?
People survived for most of human existence without laptops, I'm sure you can manage. Suffering is good for the soul and builds character, so you'll benefit from from this deprivation!
Dealing with distractions, especially in this profession, also builds character. To those that find the use of computers annoying...I say deal. In 10 years you won't be able to attend lectures without a computer so you might as well get used to it now. To those who wish to play solitaire or go onto facebook during class....whatever, its your money you are wasting not mine. Be aware though that it will probably be the most expensive facebook session you have ever had. Nursing is moving more and more into the technological future...by preventing or restricting the use of computers in the classroom we are handicapping our new generation of nurses. Its time to step away from the white dresses and hats and get with the rest of the of the college crowd.
People survived for most of human existence without laptops, I'm sure you can manage. Suffering is good for the soul and builds character, so you'll benefit from from this deprivation!
I'm pretty sure I can manage, too, but thanks for the encouragement. I wasn't implying that I couldn't do this without a laptop, but it sure makes things easier.
Besides, I kind of miss the tappity tap of tiny fingers running across a keyboard, know what I mean?
I take my laptop to class with me. Not for note taking, but because our books this semester came with a CD that contains most of our books on it. You load it to your computer and then you have your text books right there. This way I don't have to drag all my books with me to class, but just take my laptop.
Nobody uses laptops in my course at all. Old fashioned pen and paper. I prefer that though, i try to prin tout my notes before going to a lecture then just scribble all over them bits that are important. One or two people had used them in the past and it was bebo/facebook/myspace etc, four of five people gatherted around too. Very rude not to mentio distracting
Maybe having 3 little ones has really given me the ability to block out all distractions.
I have 3 littles ones (two in diapers atm) and interruptions during class, clicking of pens, shuffling of papers and all that STILL drives me nuts. So its not the kids. :) I think that if you did not have a laptop and had the same experiences they might drive you crazy, but I'm not you to say for sure.
I wish I could use my laptop at class, but I understand that it is a distraction to others (just seeing around my laptop when we're at the bottom of a transparency would be issue). If someone had something flashy on their screen in the row in front of me, that would be very distracting IMO. But then, thats why I sit in the front row.
Specializes in 5th Semester - Graduation Dec '09!.
Laptops are WAY annoying. Realistically, they are not practical for taking notes at all. However they are really great at checking Facebook and Myspace!
Believe me, If I were an instructor they would be banned too!
Laptops are WAY annoying. Realistically, they are not practical for taking notes at all. However they are really great at checking Facebook and Myspace!
Believe me, If I were an instructor they would be banned too!
That may be the case for you, but my notes improved significantly with the use of a laptop. I can type much more quickly than I can write, and my notes are much more organized and legible.
We all do things differently, what works for you may not work as well for others.
I don't own one, and I got through NS with no problems. At least 80% of the students in every class had one though, and they annoyed the crap out of me too. There was the girl who came in early every day to get a front row seat, and then played Tetris throughout the entire leture, every single day - at least until I moved my seat because it was too distracting (I love Tetris). My new seatmates only surfed Facebook and went shopping. There was the musical noise that they make when they're turned on over and over throughout each lecture as people come in late, noisily set up, and their computer turns on. Our school had a lot of issues with their ethernet and wireless, and it seemed like the whole classroom was unable to function if it went down. We wasted a ton of class time when instructors couldn't work their flash drives to put up a powerpoint. I wish they would have been banned too, but our school was trying to "embrace technology". You may not be a Tetris player and may never come in late, but other people do and they must have ruined it for everyone else.
I take my laptop to class with me. Not for note taking, but because our books this semester came with a CD that contains most of our books on it. You load it to your computer and then you have your text books right there. This way I don't have to drag all my books with me to class, but just take my laptop.
I wish this would have been an option when I was in school. Getting ideas like this is one of the reasons AN is so useful.
I think it would be personally distracting . . . like right now I'm surfing allnurses and listening to a talk show on my computer and when I start reading the posts, I don't hear the talk show.
It is disrespectful to the instructor, no matter how boring, to read something else during the lecture.
Almost all of us have laptops, and they are really an advantage. The newer laptops have keys were they are not so loud anymore. I personally had mine with me everyday. I too can type faster than I can write, and we practive questions from our books cd's on them. My school provides us with wireless internet, so that is an added bonus, because most books have a companion website that has additional info or different questions than the cd. Im all for it, I think it can be extremely useful. Of course, it should be used for educational purposes, at least at school...lol
I'd like to see how the nursing faculty would survive if their computers were pulled from them. I also find it almost laughable that in a world where health care is becoming increasingly dependent on computers, and computer proficiency is becoming a job requirement for nurses, that we're not allowed to use this technology in our classrooms. 
FireStarterRN, BSN, RN
3,824 Posts
People survived for most of human existence without laptops, I'm sure you can manage. Suffering is good for the soul and builds character, so you'll benefit from from this deprivation!