Psychology
The Effects of Laptop Use on Neighboring Students in the Classroom
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Psychology
Start Date
13-4-2018 11:30 AM
End Date
13-4-2018 11:45 AM
Sponsor
Mandy Hall (Butler University)
Description
Previous research suggests typing notes using a laptop is detrimental to learning compared to handwritten notes. One reason for this discrepancy may be distraction from Internet access while using a laptop. This may not be limited to the laptop user; however, limited research has investigated the effects of laptop use during class on surrounding students. The purpose of our study was to determine how laptop use impacts neighboring students' comprehension of lecture material in a classroom setting, and if so, is students' comprehension dependent upon where they sit relative to the laptop user and whether their laptop-using neighbor was on-task(e.g.,taking notes)or off-task(e.g.,scrolling through Facebook). We used a 4x2 mixed-factorial design. Participant Location(in-front-of confederate, behind, to the left, to the right)was manipulated between-participants and Confederate Activity(on-task vs.off-task)was manipulated within-participants. The dependent variables were participants' judgments of learning(the number of multiple-choice test questions out of 20 they expected to get correct)and participants' comprehension of lecture material(the percentage of 20 multiple-choice test questions they got correct). Participants provided judgments of learning pre-lecture, post-lecture, and post-test. Participants were randomly assigned a seat surrounding a confederate and participated in a 25-minute lecture on droughts while taking notes by hand. Confederates switched from on-task to off-task every 6 minutes throughout the lecture. Post-lecture, participants completed a multiple-choice test for comprehension of lecture material. Results indicate that the effects of laptop use on a classroom neighbor depends upon if the laptop user is on-task or off-task and where the student is sitting in relation to the laptop-user.
The Effects of Laptop Use on Neighboring Students in the Classroom
Indianapolis, IN
Previous research suggests typing notes using a laptop is detrimental to learning compared to handwritten notes. One reason for this discrepancy may be distraction from Internet access while using a laptop. This may not be limited to the laptop user; however, limited research has investigated the effects of laptop use during class on surrounding students. The purpose of our study was to determine how laptop use impacts neighboring students' comprehension of lecture material in a classroom setting, and if so, is students' comprehension dependent upon where they sit relative to the laptop user and whether their laptop-using neighbor was on-task(e.g.,taking notes)or off-task(e.g.,scrolling through Facebook). We used a 4x2 mixed-factorial design. Participant Location(in-front-of confederate, behind, to the left, to the right)was manipulated between-participants and Confederate Activity(on-task vs.off-task)was manipulated within-participants. The dependent variables were participants' judgments of learning(the number of multiple-choice test questions out of 20 they expected to get correct)and participants' comprehension of lecture material(the percentage of 20 multiple-choice test questions they got correct). Participants provided judgments of learning pre-lecture, post-lecture, and post-test. Participants were randomly assigned a seat surrounding a confederate and participated in a 25-minute lecture on droughts while taking notes by hand. Confederates switched from on-task to off-task every 6 minutes throughout the lecture. Post-lecture, participants completed a multiple-choice test for comprehension of lecture material. Results indicate that the effects of laptop use on a classroom neighbor depends upon if the laptop user is on-task or off-task and where the student is sitting in relation to the laptop-user.