Laptop Use

Laptops and other electronic communication devices are discouraged from being used during class sessions for some of my courses.

For the reasons see:

• Hembrooke, H. and Gay, G., 2003. The laptop and the lecture: The effects of multitasking in learning environments. Journal of computing in higher education, 15(1), pp.46-64.
• Yamamoto, K., 2007. Banning laptops in the classroom: Is it worth the hassles?. Journal of Legal Education, 57(4), pp.477-520.
• Fried, C.B., 2008. In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning. Computers & Education, 50(3), pp.906-914.
• Wurst, C., Smarkola, C. and Gaffney, M.A., 2008. Ubiquitous laptop usage in higher education: Effects on student achievement, student satisfaction, and constructivist measures in honors and traditional classrooms. Computers & Education, 51(4), pp.1766-1783.
• Ophir, E., Nass, C. and Wagner, A.D., 2009. Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), pp.15583-15587.
• Ellis, Y., Daniels, W. and Jauregui, A., 2010. The effect of multitasking on the grade performance of business students. Research in Higher Education Journal, 8.
• Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M. and Dendron, M., 2010. Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education, 54, 927-931.
• Kraushaar, J.M. and Novak, D.C., 2010. Examining the effects of student multitasking with laptops during the lecture. Journal of Information Systems Education, 21(2), p.241.
• Junco, R. and Cotten, S.R., 2012. No A 4 U: The relationship between multitasking and academic performance. Computers & Education, 59(2), pp.505-514.
• Junco, R., 2012. In-class multitasking and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(6), pp.2236-2243.
• Barak, L., 2012. Multitasking in the university classroom. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6 (2).
• Beanland, V., Pammer, K., 2012. Minds on the blink: The relationship between inattentional blindness and attentional blink. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 74, 322-330
• Bredemeier, K., & Simons, D. J., 2012. Working memory and inattentional blindness. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 19, 239-244.
• Aguilar-Roca, N.M., Williams, A.E. and O’Dowd, D.K., 2012. The impact of laptop-free zones on student performance and attitudes in large lectures. Computers & Education, 59(4), pp.1300-1308.
• Risko, E.F., Buchanan, D., Medimorec, S. and Kingstone, A., 2013. Everyday attention: Mind wandering and computer use during lectures. Computers & Education, 68, pp.275-283.
• Sana, F., Weston, T., Cepeda, N. J., 2013. Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education 62, 24–31.
• Sanbonmatsu D. M., Strayer D. L., Medeiros-Ward, N., & Watson, J. M., 2013. Who multi-tasks and why? Multi-tasking ability, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. PLoS ONE, 8, 1-8.
• Sovern, J., 2013. Law student laptop use during class for non-class purposes: Temptation v. incentives. U. Louisville L. Rev., 51, p.483.
• Spitzer, M., 2014. Information technology in education: Risks and side effects. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 3(3), pp.81-85.
• Ravizza, S.M., Hambrick, D.Z. and Fenn, K.M., 2014. Non-academic internet use in the classroom is negatively related to classroom learning regardless of intellectual ability. Computers & Education, 78, pp.109-114.
• Mueller, Pam A., and Daniel M. Oppenheimer. “The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking.” Psychological science 25, no. 6 (2014): 1159-1168. Summary in the Scientific American and on npr.
• Bellur, S., Nowak, K.L. and Hull, K.S., 2015. Make it our time: In class multitaskers have lower academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 53, pp.63-70.
• Beland, L.P. and Murphy, R., 2016. Ill communication: technology, distraction & student performance. Labour Economics, 41, pp.61-76.
• Dindar, M. and Akbulut, Y., 2016. Effects of multitasking on retention and topic interest. Learning and Instruction, 41, pp.94-105.
• Mueller, P.A. and Oppenheimer, D.M., 2016. Technology and note-taking in the classroom, boardroom, hospital room, and courtroom. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 5(3), pp.139-145.
• Patterson, R.W. and Patterson, R.M., 2017. Computers and productivity: Evidence from laptop use in the college classroom. Economics of Education Review, 57, pp.66-79.
• Ravizza, Susan M., Mitchell G. Uitvlugt, and Kimberly M. Fenn., 2017. “Logged in and zoned out: How laptop internet use relates to classroom learning.” Psychological science 28, no. 2: 171-180.
• Kirschner, P.A. and De Bruyckere, P., 2017. The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, pp.135-142.
• Carter, S.P., Greenberg, K. and Walker, M.S., 2017. The impact of computer usage on academic performance: Evidence from a randomized trial at the United States Military Academy. Economics of Education Review, 56, pp.118-132.
• Glass, A.L. and Kang, M., 2018. Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance. Educational Psychology, pp.1-14.
• Morehead, K., Dunlosky, J. & Rawson, K.A, 2019. How Much Mightier Is the Pen than the Keyboard for Note-Taking? A Replication and Extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014). Educ Psychol Rev 31, 753–780.
• Ose Askvik, Eva, F. R. (Ruud) van der Weel, and Audrey L. H. van der Meer, 2020. The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults. Frontiers in Psychology 11 (July 28).
• Umejima, Keita, et al, 2021. Paper Notebooks vs. Mobile Devices: Brain Activation Differences During Memory Retrieval, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
• Wiley, R. W. and Rapp, B., 2021. The Effects of Handwriting Experience on Literacy Learning, Psychological Science.
• Voyer, D., Ronis, S.T. and Byers, N., 2022. The effect of notetaking method on academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 68, p.102025.

The non-use of laptops in class is only part of a larger set of strategies to improve your learning performance, see e.g. Putnam, A.L., Sungkhasettee, V.W. and Roediger III, H.L., 2016. Optimizing learning in college: Tips from cognitive psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(5), pp.652-660.