Raghu Rau was braced for a hostile reaction when he made a radical change to his MBA course at University of Cambridge Judge Business School late last year. He was so frustrated with the distraction of his students that he decided to ban laptops.
“You just see the backs of their computers but it’s obvious they are multitasking, checking emails or buying things online,” he says. “I was tired of putting a lot of energy into the class and getting nothing back. Teaching is like stand-up comedy: if the audience is engaged, it’s easy. If there is no reaction, it’s tough and exhausting.”
His new policy mirrors efforts by a number of professors in higher education — and some students voluntarily — to put digital technology to one side to help improve their learning, social life and mental health. Studies appear to support the trend.