Laptop Policy

Laptops are great for doing many things, but taking notes is not one of them. The research is unequivocal on that point. Study after study indicate that:

  • laptops offer too great a temptation to play with social media, do online shopping, check fantasy sports scores, and engage in any number of distracting activities
  • students with laptops tend to distract those around them
  • students equipped with laptops tend to write more than those who use paper and pen, but the former retain less from class and take worse notes
  • students using laptops in class tend to perform worse overall in courses than their peers who use more traditional modes of note-taking

Check out these articles from The New Yorker, Scientific American,  The New York Times, the Brookings Institution, and The Atlantic.

You can also look at these studies from Cornell University, Princeton University/UCLA, and McMaster University/York University.

Exceptions

There are only two exceptions to this rule. First, if you have a documented disability that requires you to use a laptop, I will gladly make an exception to the rule. Second, there may be some days where I will ask you to bring laptops to class. These days will be indicated on the schedule for the class.

Printing

Since I generally do not want laptops in my classroom, I would like you to print the primary source readings. Studies indicate that students retain information better when they read it from a printed page. Yes, IT has set a quota of 650 double-sided pages per semester; the cost of this quota is embedded in your Comprehensive Fee. IT tracking reveals, however, that only 10% of students print more than that limit, so chances are pretty good that you won’t reach it. If you do print more than 650 double-sided pages, you will be charged 7.5 cents per double-sided page over that limit. However, if you are in a class that requires much printing (e.g. Nursing), you can get an exemption from this rule, and I would be happy to help you out. However, even if you can’t get a break, and you printed 300 double-sided pages in excess of 650, that would only amount to $22.50. So just print the readings and bring them to class.