To what extent should we allow students to use screen-devices in the classroom?, assignment help

To what extent should we allow students to use screen-devices in the classroom?

In this class, we have continued to allow the use of laptops and other devices while in the lecture, but that’s a decision on our part; it could have been otherwise. It is up to the lecturer (and administration) to construct policies regarding use of devices in the classroom, and presumably any lecturer or administrator has an argument in favour of her or his policy.

For this essay, you should imagine yourself in the role of an administrator responsible for creating such a policy. Your task is to understand the issues on both sides of the debate and to create an argument in favour of a clearly-stated policy. Your argument should be concise and direct to the point.

In a case like this, there are two obvious answers: ban all devices, or allow any device and any content. But there is also plenty of room for subtlety in between: perhaps to suggest a ban on social media in the classroom, or to only allow the use of devices in certain physical parts of the classroom, or to use other technologies to block certain social media sites, etc. We expect your argument to reflect this subtlety.

There’s lots of research available on the topics of the extent to which technology might help in educational settings and how much it might be harmful. Review and balance that research (see references below) and write a recommendation (in the form “we should _____ in the classroom…”) and construct an argument in favour of that recommendation.

To present your argument:

(1) In a paragraph, state your recommendation and a summary of your main argument. Example: “For this essay I will make a recommendation against using any technology in the classroom. To support this conclusion, I will construct an argument based on ….”

(2) Make sure that your premises and conclusion are identifiable. Be explicit about which of your premises work dependently and which ones workd independently.

(3) At least one of the premises must be a rejection of an argument against your conclusion. (See references below for some such arguments).
** Note: be charitable to the opposition!

(4) Provide a sub-argument for each main premise.

(5) Present a form of your main argument in propositional logic and show that your main argument is valid using a truth table. You are not required to show that your sub-arguments (arguments for the main premises) are valid.

References:

Pro-laptop:
http://c21u.gatech.edu/blog/case-laptops-classroom

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2014/06/in_defense_of_laptops_in_the_college_classroom.html

Pro-handwriting:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201303/why-writing-hand-could-make-you-smarter

Anti-Laptop:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hot-thought/201007/banning-laptops-in-classrooms

You should do some research to get more information about the topic before formulating your conclusion. We strongly encourage you to go beyond the information in the references listed above. Feel free to provide more references.

Word Limit

1,500 words (excluding truth table and bibliography).

 

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