While technology has become very prevalent in society and is very useful, it does not belong in the traditional classroom.

There are always exceptions to the rules. In some classes, such as media-based courses, laptops and cellphones are a requirement for the class, and their use is unavoidable. However, for the majority of classes, there should be an overarching “no laptop” rule. Many students will argue that they take better notes on their laptops. This is just an attempt at a justified reason for them to have it out. If one were to stand in the back of a lecture class and take a look around, they would see a lot of things on students’ screens, a minority of which will be the lecture notes.

In classes, students shop, play video games, text and do work for other classes. Not only is this rude to the professor who is trying to teach a class, but it is also distracting to students around them who become more interested in what is on the screen than what the professor is saying.

Without even taking anyone else into consideration, students pay a large sum of money to attend these college classes. If you go to class and play around on your computer or phone the whole time, you are only wasting your time and money by missing out on the valuable information the professor is trying to convey.

Even if you are paying attention and following along to the digital lecture or taking notes on your laptop, you are still doing yourself a disservice. According to a study conducted by Sage Journals, it is scientifically proven that you retain more information when you physically write it down. When you handwrite notes, not only are you hearing the words as your professor speaks, and possibly seeing the notes on the screen, but you are also going through the motion of forming the words yourself. This way, it is using three of your senses, and you will be far more likely to remember what you are learning. The same cannot be said for typing. While it is true that you are touching the keys, hitting a button is not the same as forming the words yourself, as you do through handwriting.

It just makes more sense for there to be a “no laptop” rule for the traditional classroom. Overall, it would be doing a favor to students. It reduces the opportunity for distractions for the students who are trying to learn, as well as the professor who is trying to teach and may be distracted by students with faces buried in their screens. This will also give students the opportunity to practice the most effective form of notetaking through the lost art of handwriting.

While this is not a policy that is generally taken well by students, overall, the benefits outweigh the negatives. Even those with the certainty that they take better notes on a computer may find themselves pleasantly surprised if they give handwriting a chance and really focus on what they write without the distraction of technology.

Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian