[lg policy] Is it ok to sit and use a laptop during... - please vote!

[Joyce Milambiling]

I didn't get a chance to respond about the laptop, but I definitely have
strong opinions about tweeting during presentations.

I gave a talk in Europe last year and right before I started they announced
that some of the audience would be tweeting to each other during my talk.

It was awful--it was hard to make eye contact and who knows what they were
saying to each other. Also, I have no idea if their private conversations
contributed anything to the open question and answer period afterward.

I think that listening, really listening, is a valuable skill and that
constantly being engaged with technology is interfering with developing and
sustaining good listening habits in faculty and students alike.

On Saturday, June 7, 2014, Dave Sayers <dave.sayers at cantab.net> wrote:
> Ok the responses are beginning to level off now, and with 105 responses
so far, some trends seem clear:
>
> Pretty well level-pegging with 72 (68.6%) and 71 (67.6%), respectively,
are laptop usage during a public guest lecture (say 50-150 attendees), and
during a plenary / keynote talk in a conference. Slightly lower, but
probably not significantly lower, with 64 votes (61%), is laptop usage
during a regular conference presentation.
>
> With 47 votes (44.8%) and 36 votes (34.3%), respectively, are using one's
laptop during a departmental seminar (say with around 30 attendees) and in
a departmental meeting (say around 15 participants).
>
> Only two people (1.9%) thought it was acceptable to use a laptop during a
family dinner, while twice as many people (3.8%) saw it as acceptable
during sex (I suppose it depends whether you're participating or just
watching). The same percentage, 3.8%, thought it acceptable to tap away
during dinner with colleagues. Make of that what you will.
>
> So there we are: a quantification of laptop etiquette. If we go by
democracy / tyranny of the majority, then it is now Officially Acceptable
to use a laptop during conference presentations and conference plenaries.
Nudging up against Official Acceptability is laptop use during talks within
the usual university schedule. Other settings remains largely off limits.
>
> Needless to say, this limited sample provides only a small snapshot of
opinion, and must be followed up with a larger scale handsomely funded
research project. Any takers?
>
> Dave
>
> --
> Dr. Dave Sayers
> Senior Lecturer, Dept Humanities, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
> Honorary Research Fellow, Arts & Humanities, Swansea University, UK
> dave.sayers at cantab.net | http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers
>
>
>
>
> On 04/06/2014 15:00, Dave Sayers wrote:
>>
>> Conference season is upon us. This brings up the important etiquette
question of
>> whether it's ok to use your laptop during the talks. But this is also a
question
>> that's relevant year-round in other settings. I thought I'd set up a
poll to
>> establish the answer. Please vote!
>>
>> http://doodle.com/a78wgz577xypf8ce (click 'Show all 8 options' on that
page)
>>
>> I'll email back at some stage to flag up the results.
>>
>> And yes, I am typing this during a conference presentation, which I'm
finding very
>> interesting and managing to pay attention to :)
>>
>> (Please pass this around to interested other folks; it applies across
all disciplines.)
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Dave Sayers
>> Senior Lecturer, Dept Humanities, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
>> Honorary Research Fellow, Arts & Humanities, Swansea University, UK
>> dave.sayers at cantab.net | http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers
>
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-- 
Associate Professor
TESOL M.A. Program Coordinator
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0502

(319) 273-6099 (direct)
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