Pleasantville redux?

Do you have a prof who is using overhead projectors instead of powerpoint? Are they being email adverse? Are they refusing to provide soft copies of their materials, yet they have multiple paper handouts each week? If so, you've stepped back in time to LAW SCHOOL 1980's style. Yes boys and girls, just because you are going to college in the year 2004 does not mean that your school or your particular professors have noticed that things have changed since they went to law school sometime in the Reagan administration or prior.

Is it me, or is this absurd? Are these profs purposely avoiding new technology or are they oblivious? I can't tell.

Dear LRWA prof:

I assume that you're computer savvy because you have to use computers to teach us Lexis and Westlaw, but did you know you can also use PCs to better facilitate teaching in your classes? For example, if you used Powerpoint instead of the overhead projector in class it'd be easier to control how you show us content. Clicking the mouse or pushing the space bar is much easier than trying to precisely more that piece of paper up and down the overhead to hide the content we haven't gotten to yet. Also, if you used powerpoint, it'd be easier to share this info with us via soft copy so that I wouldn't have a backpack full of random handouts that I can't correlate with anything. I know that some people like paper for organization purposes, but I don't and I'm willing to bet that a majority of your class would prefer downloadable content to these weekly handouts. We grew up with computers, we're used to them, and this reliance on paper is uncomfortable for us.

Speaking of your teaching, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out why your allowing us to interact on certain activities, yet you're not on others. That speed reading through 4-5 overheads last night wasn't nearly as effective as it could have been if you'd let us interact with the exercise. I theoretically get the point you were trying to make, but since practice makes perfect the practice would have been more beneficial. Also, the fill in the blank handouts are really pointless. This isn't grade school. They doesn't help us learn the material.

One more thought before I end. I know there's this one guy in our class who keeps asking what seems to be annoying questions, but if they're on topic and relevant to our homework that we had to turn in, I really think you ought to know the answer. Your excuse that you'd have to go look it up when you tell us we ought to know this stuff because it's so commonly used just doesn't cut it. Other than the above, I'm really enjoying your class and appreciate all the hard work your TAs, er, I mean you put into it. Thanks.

Your favorite student,
Tex Lex