Analysis Of Rebecca Schuman's In Defense Of Laptops In The Classroom

535 Words3 Pages
Laptops: Help or Hindrance Within the sphere of education, many teachers and academics sit firmly on either side of the fence when it comes to the use of laptops within class. Some claim that it hinders learning, whereas others - including Rebecca Schuman, an education columnist for news website Slate - readily support its use. Schuman’s article, “In Defence of Laptops in the Classroom”, which aims to persuade teachers and academics, focuses on the students’ independent ability for learning. While Schuman commendably acknowledges opposing views, providing more supporting evidence for her stance with a greater formality in tone would better convince the readers of her viewpoint. The main argument of the article resides in the defence of laptop use in the classroom, and Schuman acknowledges the counter argument several times throughout the article. Citing the 2003 Cornell Study, “The Laptop and the Lecture”; linking to the recent study "The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking” done at Princeton and UCLA; and Dartmouth professor Dan Rockmore’s views; she fairly states that “The case for a laptop-free classroom is indeed strong.” (Paragraph 3) By raising the counter argument, Schuman provides the reader with a more balanced view of the issue at hand.…show more content…
In contrast, Schuman’s main argument is supported by her own opinions and assumptions. She likens the banning of laptops to “wagging your umbrella at an encroaching tidal wave” (Paragraph 5), using a mediocre analogy that should hold little appeal to the target audience - of teachers and academics - who would surely prefer empirical
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  • Analysis Of Rebecca Schuman's In Defense Of Laptops In The Classroom

    499 Words  | 2 Pages

    This article was written by author Rebecca Schuman for an English online current affairs and culture magazine that is based in the U.S. This piece of writing was titled “In Defense of Laptops in the Classroom”, where Schuman addressed the debate on whether the presence of laptops in college classrooms is a distraction to the students or not. The audience of Slate would be the general public, but Schuman might have an intended audience-college professors and students. She probably wanted to increase

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