I’m a college student, and I think a lot of the concerns professors have about laptops in the classroom are overblown. Here’s why:
1) You’re underestimating the neatness/organization factor. Not all professors give well thought out, organized lectures. Also, many students have a difficult time writing neat, organized notes during class, especially when the professor is trying to cover a lot of material in a short amount of time. Using a laptop makes it a lot easier for students to go back and reorganize their lecture notes to make better sense of the material covered in class. This is especially true for students like myself who suffer from dyslexia, ADHD, or some other learning disability. In other words, a laptop can mean the difference for some students between having point-by-point details of the material or chicken scratch for notes when it comes time to review for an exam.
2) Most students who use laptops to take notes can type faster than they can write by hand. Less time mechanically jotting down notes = more productive listening and interaction with professor and classmates.
3) Another advantage of being able to use a laptop in class is the ability to look up information pertinent to the lecture. For example, I’ve accessed the University library’s website to look up a journal article mentioned during class, a general history website to find an important date I didn’t catch, or online dictionaries to find the definition of a term the professor used that I didn’t understand. As a result, I ask better questions during class and interrupt the professor less over minor details.
4) Before it became common to carry laptops to class, a lot of students would spend an hour or two per class when they got home typing up lecture notes. I did this throughout high school and the first two years of college. Having a laptop in class allows students to skip that step and be more productive with their study time.
5) Students were coming up with ways to goof off in class long before laptop computers were invented.
6) My experience has been that complaints about laptops in the classroom are generally more about the ego of the complainer or discomfort with technology or change than concern about students making proper use of class time. Like you said, “it’s their funeral” if they goof off during class.
7) Most of the concerns expressed by professors are internet concerns not laptop concerns. If students visiting Facebook and IMing during class are really such big problems then limit internet access in the classroom (which is controlled by the university) instead of banning laptops. Have the IT department limit wireless access to hotspots away from classrooms and provide hardwired ethernet connections for professors to use in class.
