Re:Thoughts from a college IT guy... (Score 1)

Computers can be a big distraction in a classroom. For example, students IM'ing each other during a lecture.

I found this to be the case when I was in college. At my school everyone had a laptop and an Internet connection in class. While the administrators tried to say how great this was for everyone, it proved to be more of a distraction than a learning tool. Nearly everyone was furiously typing during lecture, but it wasn't because they were taking notes, it was because they were IM'ing during the whole class. And then, after not listening to the lectures, the same people would complain to the instructors that the assignments and exams were too hard... As a result, several instructors enforced a no internet connection during class policy, which then resulted in everyone using the machines to play games such as solitare, and my personal favorite time waster dope wars. :-) On the days I really wanted to learn something I would leave the computer at home, and take a notebook and pen to class and force myself to pay attention.