Kieran Mullen, a condensed-matter theorist in the University of Oklahoma’s department of physics and astronomy, freezes a laptop computer in liquid nitrogen, then smashes it on the floor. A student caught the classroom theatrics on video.
(Editor’s note: This was a staged stunt, which is what was implied by the words “classroom theatrics” above.)
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21 Responses to Here’s One Way to Curtail Web Surfing in the Classroom
akwhitacre - February 23, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Aw man, he totally missed the money shot!
11260805 - February 23, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Agreed – too bad we couldn’t have seen the student reaction that went with that audible gasp, too.
michaeljenck - February 23, 2010 at 4:21 pm
What’s his point? If he tried to destroy/conficate a student laptop during class. I would image a lawsuit or a call to the police for theft/robbery.
hmlowry - February 23, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Huh! You actually think that will stop them?
bag31050 - February 23, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Laptops are not the problems at my institution smart phones on the other hand are a problem. I use a cell phone jammer in the classroom problem solved. It has a 15m range and works well.To take a line from Master Card $100.00 for the jammer, a week to ship, look on their faces when I turned it on. PRICELESS
mbelvadi - February 24, 2010 at 5:40 am
ba31050, cell phone jammers are highly illegal in the US – the cell phone companies fought to make it so that no one under any circumstances can interfere in THEIR business, no matter how much their product’s use is interfering in other people’s business (restaurants, movie theaters, etc.). Maybe someone ought to fight for an educational exemption.
thorg - February 24, 2010 at 6:03 am
If this is for real this guy needs prosecuting for criminal damage. It is one thing to temporarily confiscate a student’s laptop, it is quite another to violently destroy it.He also needs to go on an anger management course, if not a career change course, for in my opinion he does not exactly seem to have the right aptitude for teaching.
klblk - February 24, 2010 at 6:20 am
@thorgIt seems perfectly reasonable when considered in context.Have a look at the instructor’s home page: http://www.nhn.ou.edu/~kieran/
snwiedmann - February 24, 2010 at 7:21 am
Oh, come on bag and thorg, do you really think the professor just happened to have the styrofoam cooler and the bottle of liquid nitrogen on hand? Are undergraduates now able to post?
oderflaus - February 24, 2010 at 7:52 am
mbelvadi is right! I looked into buying a jammer online and came across the same legal issue. If a student decides to call the phone company or the federals then I would be in trouble. Be careful… I understand the frustration!!
teddypipcatz - February 24, 2010 at 8:49 am
If you read the accompanying notations on the YouTube site, it’s clear the effect was staged (very effectively,too!).However, there is another “phone clip” from a French professor that is clearly NOT staged.
dr_redrum - February 24, 2010 at 9:09 am
In the posted video he says, “Don’t bring a laptop to class.”On his web page he writes, “I am perfectly happy with students actually taking notes on their laptops in class.”One sounds reasonable, the other sounds jerk-ish. Which is it?
ccherry - February 24, 2010 at 9:31 am
It was a stunt. Read the link to the Oklahoma Daily.The prof. just wants people to pay attention if they’re going to sit in the class.
davidvanko - February 24, 2010 at 10:14 am
Where are his safety goggles or face shield? This set a very bad example.
rufus - February 24, 2010 at 10:38 am
The model for education to include teaching and learning has changed and continues to change. We have created a generation of people who do not sit and do one thing at a time. For example, when standing in a line observe how many people are playing on their cell phone, texting, etc….In other words, we have a generation of multi-taskers and this extends into the college classroom. I am a tenured professor and I welcome the use of laptops in my classes. I have found a way to get the laptop users to locate information for during the lecture. Professors/faculty who are threatened by laptops need to consider that their teaching may not be all that.
rentedname - February 24, 2010 at 10:44 am
Actually, there is a legal solution that would save his bills on liquid nitrogen. Universities can simply add Faraday cages to their classrooms or buildings in which the classrooms sit. If the cage were classroom-based, one could turn the cage on or off as needed. Faraday cages are legal and can prevent unwanted electrical traffic supporting laptop wireless internet access and cell phone use (at least to points outside the classroom or building). This is not just science fiction; it’s a trend in building construction and an increasingly popular way to increase security of wireless communication within a building.
cheard - February 24, 2010 at 11:58 am
I’m with rufus. Instead of fighting technology, I try to leverage it toward learning ends. All materials the students need for my course are available online, and I model use of online resources in the classroom and in homework assignments. In fact, I go further: I actually require students to use laptops in class, collecting feedback daily through Google Docs forms, Poll Everywhere, or other tools, and administering exams using the testing tool within our course management system. At the beginning of many class sessions, I give the students suggested search strings for use in Google or Bing that will lead them to material tangentially related to the class session. Attention need not be fixed on the instructor for learning to occur.Besides that, I’m as “bad” as my students; I’m posting this from a faculty meeting.
efovargue - February 25, 2010 at 7:44 am
I agree – this technology is now an integral part of the research needed to undertake a degree – why the violent dislike?Emma
raza_khan - February 26, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I am not sure if there was a point to this “stunt”. First, what was the point that he was trying to make?If the point was to pay attention to the faculty member, then he should have been the first person not to have a cell phone clipped to his pant pocket!!! Second, if he was trying to “impress” how cold liquid nitrogen is, then it was better for him to try a rose. To destroy a laptop is not only ridiculous but waste of money. Even a dead laptop has battery and moreover the battery which has to be recycled carefully.As mentioned earlier, he did not have practice safety at all. At the very least, he needs to have his face covered when dealing with a large object placed in liquid nitrogen.He needs to have a conversation with a chemistry faculty and OSHA with regards to working rules at an institution.VERY BAD example!
emmadw - February 28, 2010 at 3:45 pm
I agree with cheard! (Though I’m not in a work meeting!) We have to teach students to best use technology; I’d far rather students appeared with their laptops (or mobile phones, given the range of tools apps give you today), than appeared, as too many of mine do, with nothing.
performance_expert - March 1, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Freedom through gentrificatrion of faculty! Censure! Remove! Empower! Every student should be issued several laptops for class: one for listening to music, one for gaming, one for chat, one for filming the class and eavesdropping, and another for playing the stock market, pump and dump.PS An ex-KGB cheif said the “New World Order” is not going to happen and that the USA will be lucky to just hang onto their country.So quick, get The Power back. Begin by maligning, hot-seating, and hopefully dispose of any academic who does not follow the script.