Apparently the University of Chicago Law School has stopped giving students access to the internet in classrooms, at least on an "experimental basis," according to the Dean. Inside Higher Ed has the story on the situation, first broken by the blog Above The Law. Students are not happy about it, according to reports.
This seems to be the first time a law school has shut off wireless connectivity as a matter of policy.
I've just finished teaching a law school course and I'd have to say that, looked at from the other side, there are few if any good reasons for having wifi on during the whole of each and every class. It's perfectly clear — and highly distracting — to the instructor when students are paying attention to something online. And some students I've spoken to about it recently claim that they're often distracted by classmates in front of them who are watching hockey clips or surfing for wedding dresses.
Cornell law school has a no-wifi in class policy, though it is thretened by encroaching wifi from nearby buildings