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Monday, June 05, 2006

'Harvard Law School , the world’s self-described “premier center for legal education and research,” may ban Internet use in the classroom this fall because so many students are frittering away time surfing the Web.
The school’s faculty has yet to vote on the proposal. But several professors, fed up with students shopping online or checking Red Sox scores when they should be heeding lectures, have gone so far as to outlaw laptops in class.


“They interfere with discussion,” Harvard law professor Bruce L. Hay said. “When you add to that the fact that many students have trouble resisting the temptation to check their e-mail or cruise the Internet, laptops become intolerable.”


The electronic paper chase has become enough of a problem that Harvard Health Services has added “computer and Internet distraction and overuse” to its list of leading health concerns, alongside depression, stress, eating disorders and alcohol and drug abuse.


In a 2004 National College Health Assessment, in fact, nearly 1 out of 4 Harvard undergraduates reported that computer or Internet use was an impediment to their academic performance.


In this respect, Harvard is hardly unique.


“Students on the Web in class is a bane of professors everywhere,” said David Olson, a 2000 Harvard Law School graduate and fellow at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. “Stanford professors would love a ban. But as one faculty member said, they’re afraid of the riot that would ensue if they tried to impose one.”


In a recent survey by the Harvard Law School Student Council, nearly 2 out of 3 students opposed a ban. And nearly 1 in 4 said they would actually attend class less often if the faculty instituted one.


“People are already talking about how to get around it,” said council President Michael Sevi. If all else fails, he said, they could always fall back on that old standby: passing notes in class.


“People will always find something to distract themselves,” said Regina Fitzpatrick, 26, who just finished her first year at Harvard Law. “If they aren’t paying attention, that’s their own fault. We’re adults, and people should be free to make their own choice.”


But while the majority of students may not like the idea of having to give up the Web during class, 39 percent of those surveyed admitted they would probably pay more attention in class.


“For the most part, I think the widespread use of wireless takes away from the learning experience,” said Erin Canavan, 25, who will graduate this month. “People are addicted to checking their e-mail.”


“I think enabling wireless access is only a distraction,” said Robert C. Bordone, Thaddeus R. Beal lecturer on law at Harvard. “In my own class, I’ve banned laptops.”


Not all faculty members, however, agreed.


“Wireless can also be useful,” said visiting professor Michael Stein. “It’s a way that students have learned to learn.” '


---boston herald---