Technological changes almost always breed unexpected controversies. When the cell phone first came on the market, no one thought that students might one day use them to make recordings of what goes on in their classes, but we now know that they are do exactly that. Should it be allowed? Or banned? Or restricted in some way? And who should make the decision?

Those are issues I discuss in this week’s Pope Center Clarion Call.

Some people argue that beneficial classroom interactions might be deterred if students or the professor think that they are being recorded. Statements might be taken out of context or edited so as to make the speaker look bad to anyone who clicks on a posted link, thus causing a loss of robust presentation and discussion. On the other hand, the suspicion that a student might be making a recording could deter bad things from happening, such as useless harangues by professors or guest speakers.

It isn’t an easy call and I suggest that the best course is to avoid centralized decisions in favor of a more flexible “spontaneous order” approach relying on decisions at the micro level.