The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/laptop-policy/)
While pen and paper used to be the norm in a lecture hall, Student Assembly argues that laptops are now the necessary instruments for effective learning to the dismay of some professors, students and teaching assistants alike.
“I think we’re all adults here,” said School of Industrial and Labor Relations Representative Noah Chovanec ’18. “We should decide how we take notes effectively.”
Cornell faculty have begun cracking down on extraneous laptop use in class. While opinions on the benefits of laptop use in classrooms vary among faculty members, there has been a growing trend toward a more stringent regulation of the practice. Prof. Robert Thorne, physics, said he started experimenting with different laptop policies about four years ago. After implementing a strict no-laptop policy, Thorne ultimately settled on a more lenient arrangement where students with laptops are only allowed to sit in the back two rows. “I understand that students might have a paper due or have to meet some deadline but don’t want to miss lecture,” Thorne said.