It’s right there in black and white. The first day of class, a syllabus is handed out. The rules for an entire semester in a few pages on the desk. And as the professor is reading through what is and isn’t allowed, the criteria for technological devices is laid out. “No electronic devices allowed, including cell phones and laptops.”

This is something that should change. There are many benefits for a student who has a keyboard to record notes.

Cell phones are understandable to some extent. They are primarily understood as texting devices and nothing more; even though most phones are now considered smart phones, so students could easily download a PDF file on their cell and read it throughout the class. They have plenty of benefits as well, almost a mini-computer in a way, given how much they are capable of doing.

Regardless, it could be understandable as to why instructors don’t want students distracted by staring at their phone due to the stigma attached to them as mainly communication devices.

However technology is useful, especially in learning.

The current generation attending college classes types out their notes faster than writing them and they have the benefit of being able to read the content they took down after they leave classes, which does not always happen when reviewing writing that was jotted down in a haste to keep up with lecture.

Documents are sharable and easy to format to enhance organization of any topic, that way when a student is studying they can more easily reference a topic the professor lectured about in class.

This is definitely a plus, because it is a neat and clean outline to reference and everything is stored in one place.Why wouldn’t professors want their students to be more organized?

The act of taking notes within a document on a personal computer is the best option. Not only a laptop but a tablet like an iPad or a Kindle.

Any tablet device has so many positives to enhance learning, from the voice recorder app to the ability to write notes that can be converted into text. They can house books, which eliminates the need for a full backpack and rids the need for paper, which not only lessens the impact on the environment, but also the one on a budget strapped college student’s bank account.

There is the chance of distraction, but something will always be distracting those students who slip in and out of paying attention. Daydreaming or Facebook, one of them is going to be the culprit, but they’ll most likely come back to the topic at hand given they’re there to learn and know that.

We have all adapted to the use of electronic devices to better our experiences.

This ideal should be included within the classroom, especially because at UW-Eau Claire, learning is meant to the utmost goal. It’s a university, that’s the point of its existence. It’s time that instructors embrace this methodology and accept that computers and personal electronic tablets are useful as an addition to the classroom, not a hindrance.