2.4 Electronic Devices

During class periods, students are asked to refrain from using electronic devices (including cell phones) for activities not directly related to the course. For this class, I expect students to limit their use of electronic devices to accessing course software, readings, and notes.

There is evidence that using electronic devices during lectures results in decreased retention of course content (Hembrooke and Gay 2003) and lower overall course performance (Fried 2008). Students who are not using a laptop but are in direct view of another student’s laptop also have decreased performance in courses (Sana et al. 2013). Conversely, students who take notes the “old fashioned way” have better performance on tests compared to students who take notes on laptops (Mueller and Oppenheimer 2014).

I therefore ask students to be conscious of how they are using their devices, the ways such use impacts their own learning, and the effect that it may have on others around them. I reserve the right to alter this policy if electronic device use becomes problematic during the semester.