[Last modified: October, 14 2024 08:57 PM]
Sitting at the back of the lecture hall during a class, I see rows of bright screens light up the space between me and the professor. If I look up for a bit more, I could discover another magnificent screen hanging at the end of the room, which is the projector. I find myself surrounded by bright screens. Within this lecture hall that has around 100 people, before the lecture begins, almost everyone sets up a screen in front of them as a preparation for taking note of the knowledge. It’s been about two years since I last sat in a lecture hall, and back then, maybe half of the students would have had laptops, while the others opted for the familiar pen and paper. This transformation makes me wonder —- what drives this shift toward digital tools for note-taking? Is it really improving the learning experience, or is it just a sign of the times?
As the lecture is halfway through, my eyes wander across the screens before me. The student directly sitting in front of me was originally taking notes, and with their fingers swiped on the trackpad, the laptop shifted to an online shopping website for buying contact lenses. After picking the right degree and submitting the order, they switched back to the Word document and continued taking notes from the lecture, this shopping process finishes within 5 minutes, but it leaves a bizarre impression on me as someone could be so focused and yet distracted that they can move between the shopping and note-taking activities seamlessly. Another person sitting a few rows ahead of me has iMessage and a Word document opening in front of them at the same time. The back-and-forth messages go on along with the lecture.
By the end of the class, both of them have taken extensive notes on their laptop. One has bought contact lenses, and the other has kept a relationship alive, all are perfectly finished while participating in the lecture.