Law Prof's 'Market Solution' to Laptop Ban: Auction Right to Surf From Back Row of Class
The controversial classroom ban on student laptop use that some law schools have instituted is “a manageable problem with a market solution,” a law professor suggests.
Instead of a total ban on laptops, law schools should auction back-row laptop rights to students who most want to use their personal computers to surf the net, suggests Dan Filler of Drexel University in a Faculty Lounge blog post today.
Rather than auctioning laptop rights for money, however, Filler suggests students would have to do extra work, such as write papers, in exchange for the special privilege.
Meanwhile, he points out, the system he suggests would have a benefit for disabled students who would be permitted to use their laptops without having to ante up any extra work.
“The beauty of my plan is that these students can receive rear row seats for free (no additional papers) and their disability will be invisible to others—unlike classrooms with a laptop ban and one or two visibly accommodated students,” he writes.
Hat tip: Above the Law.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “More Law Profs Ban Laptop Use in Class”
