Some Professors say leave the laptop at home, bring pen and paper

Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

A silent college classroom is rare.

The lecturer pauses for a sip of water. Students aren't talking. And no one's cell phone is vibrating, trilling or playing the latest Billboard-chart favorite.

Yet the faint clatter of typing rises from at least one set of fingers -- an ever-present sign that today's students would rather come to class with laptops than with a pen and paper. After all, it's awfully hard to check your e-mail, surf the Web or chat with friends using a spiral notebook.

But now a growing number of professors, including some at Seattle's three universities, are asking students to leave the laptops in their bags or at home.

"There's a concern that students will be surfing the Web, especially with YouTube so readily available," said Therese Huston, director of Seattle University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Huston often sits in on classes to gauge what kind of support faculty members need, and she said she can attest to how frequently the video site pops up during lectures.

"There will be the occasional student who will forget to turn the sound down," she said.