Using lap-top computers for note-taking in class

A small minority of my students use laptop computers to take notes - perhaps 4 to 8 in a class of 35. As long as the computers are not an annoying distraction to others, our departmental policy is to leave it up to students to decide how to take notes. Most students with laptops sit on the periphery of the room in order to be close to a power supply. The actual typing does not seem to be a distraction to the rest of the class.

Most of the time, I have no idea whether students on laptops are taking notes or buying something on ebay. I can only tell from their facial expressions if they are engrossed in something other than notetaking. Last week I had the rather disheartening experience of realizing that about two/thirds of the laptop-users were at that moment clearly amused and interested in something on their screens that had nothing to do with what we were discussing in class.

Should I care that students are watching Youtube, catching up on Facebook, or watching video games in class? Is this extension of multitasking into the cyber world any worse than whispering, fidgeting or falling asleep?

Clearly, if this is distracting to other students it is a problem. But what about the students who are missing class because they are online? Should we ban laptop computers to save students from themselves? Should we change our teaching to accommodate what appears to be a shrinking attention span in the face of multiple potential distractions?

I don't know the answers to these questions. I have seen laptop computers used well in class. I have also seen them aid and abet distractible students. I know that classes need to be interesting to engage and hold students' attention. But I recognize that human brains are wired to seek novelty. Technology provides unlimited potential for distraction. The majority of students still use paper and pens to take notes - I wonder if there are systematic differences in note-taking between laptop-users and paper-and-pen users.

These observations raise many fundamental questions about how students learn, the role of technology inside the classroom itself, the best way to deliver course content, and the responsibilities of students, faculty and institutions.

Empirical research on the use of laptops for note-taking during lectures suggests that open laptops during class are related to poorer grades. There are several possible reasons for this: open laptops encourage multitasking and time "away" from class; typing notes is less effective than note-taking by hand in learning or memory-encoding; handwritten notes are better than typed notes for studying; students who use laptops are using less effective academic strategies, etc. We need more research; the technology is not going away. How do you deal with these technological issues in your class?