Should I get a Dell, or should I get an Apple?

The battle between PCs and Macs used to be one of the more complicated questions in buying a laptop for college, but now that may be changing. Instead of just a corporation vs. corporation debate, it’s now becoming a technology vs. academia challenge.

Students have always faced distractions in the classroom, but recently technology has taken center stage as one of the main sources of distraction in the college classroom. Ultimately, are laptops a helpful tool or are they just a newer form of distraction?

“You have to have a great discipline over the gadget, or the gadget will have a great discipline over you,” said Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.

Bugeja has addressed the issue himself in his article, “Distractions in the Wireless Classroom.”

Whether you call it a distraction or multitasking, it is one of the reasons that many professors at Iowa State and throughout the nation have banned the use of laptops in their classrooms.

Topping the headlines this past year, June Entman, a law professor from the University of Memphis, found herself in a lawsuit with her students, brought on by her banning the use of laptops in her classroom.

“My main concern was they were focusing on trying to transcribe every word that was I saying, rather than thinking and analyzing,” said Entman in a USA Today article. “The computers interfere with making eye contact. You’ve got this picket fence between you and the students.”

Entman’s reasoning is backed by many professors with the same view. Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism and communication, also explained why written note-taking and attentiveness in classes is more beneficial than using a laptop to take notes.

“People actually have to think on their feet, listen and analyze,” she said.

While the argument is logical, these views have plagued students recently as they struggle to keep up in the classroom without their faithful laptop by their side.

Some students find it difficult to keep up in the fast paced environment without the use of a laptop to take notes on or to look up supplementary information with.

“Restricting laptop use restricts the student’s ability to follow along, because some students really need those notes to follow up with afterwards,” said Joela Kemp, senior in advertising.

So where is the line drawn between students having the right to choose their laptop as an academic advantage and professors making that choice for them? Is the classroom destined to become divided in its approach to technology in the classroom?

As the debate rages on at Iowa State, the Chronicle of Higher Education has already started conducting studies on the issue at Winona State University, shown here.