Caesar Cabada sits on a bench browsing the Internet on his MacBook. The senior communications major clicks on interesting links, curious about what blogs or videos will greet him.
The only problem is that Cabada carries his hobby over to the classroom.
As Cal State Long Beach grows increasingly tech savvy, many students take advantage of the updated computer labs to surf gossip blogs, check sports scores or visit social networking sites — during the middle of a lecture. Some, like Cabada, haul their laptops from class to class.
“I go in there knowing that obviously I’m not just going to take notes because if I have a computer in front of me, I know I’m going to want to do something on it,” Cabada said.
Many students with laptops intend to type notes but, especially in large classrooms, someone not in the professor’s line of sight can easily “click open a new tab and go on Facebook, watch videos or whatever,” Cabada said.
Professors rarely check up on people behind computer screens, which is why students might find computer misuse enticing. Cabada recalled how some peers hid their laptops underneath seats and watched Netflix movies. They were never caught.
Mathematics professor Florence Newberger attends a lecture hall economy class and has noticed the trend of students immersed in laptops. Students, she said, feel comfortable surfing the Internet when the instructor has too many people to keep tabs on.
“They don’t have that guilt toward the professor,” she said. “If it’s a small class, you kind of feel guilty for not listening because the professor will notice and it’s kind of rude.”
Some instructors are vocal about tech etiquette. Journalism professor Heloiza Herscovitz teaches a senior seminar class and asks students to bring laptops for in-class exercises. Although everyone is wired, Herscovitz tries her best to discourage people from tuning her out because of Facebook updates. When the technology is deemed unnecessary, she has laptops shut closed. Occasionally, someone might still be catching the latest gossip from Perez Hilton.
“You’re not going to walk in the back and treat them as high school students,” Herscovitz said. “At the same time, a lot of the new generation feel better to take notes on the computer than by hand, and can we really forbid them from doing that?”
Apparently, some professors do forbid students from using laptops during class. Cabada, the online enthusiast, said computers are not allowed in any of his classes this semester — but such bans are rare. The majority of instructors, though wary of the distractions computers can cause, still believe in technological convenience.
“Certain teachers, I guess, just like to give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you are taking notes because a good percentage of us do take notes,” Cabada said.
While some people type notes and check sports scores simultaneously, Herscovitz argues that multitasking may affect grades. For every MySpace comment students type, a valuable piece of information from the professor might be lost. As for Cabada, he said the online excursions have never affected his grades.
Herscovitz said that although she disapproves of computer misuse, she never takes it personally.
“I think [students are] going against themselves,” she said. “They’re paying more and getting less. So if you’re paying more, come into class, and if you want to use the Internet … stay home. You’re going to save money.”