I have found few things more frustrating than a professor making a huge deal out of using laptops during his or her class on the first.

After reading aloud the “no laptops allowed in class” rule together from the syllabus, the professor proceeds to list off multiple reasons why this is important. The central part of his or her reasoning is that our generation is far too addicted to being technologically stimulated; that or it will hurt their feelings if we are on Facebook and Twitter.

Cue the awkward joke about how they are too old to use all that “Facebook and Twitter stuff.” While I understand these professors think they are looking out for our best interests and believe  access to the Internet during lecture will cause us to fail their class, I think they are missing the advantages that students get from having their availible during class.

One of the many advantages of the Internet is it provides immediate access to supplemental material that will allow you to further conceptualize facts that are presented during the lecture.

I have used Wikipedia multiple times during class to research a historical figure or event to provide a quick, more comprehensive placement of that event or figure in an overall narrative. Indeed, the expansion of the Internet in recent years has made our generation crave constant stimulation, but I am not at all convinced this is a bad thing.

We have access to more resources and are quick on our feet when we need to find a fact and have less tolerance for not understanding things, as a simple explanation is just a click away. It is common for something in a lecture to not make total sense, and it is helpful when we have resources right in front of us that can solve that problem.

PDF reading assignments are another big part of college classes. Those professors who do not allow laptops obviously expect that each of these readings are printed out and brought to class. Aside from being a waste of paper, this is simply a waste of time.

I always forget when I am supposed to have a reading printed off and brought to class and end up having to share with another student. This is all the more frustrating when my laptop is sitting in my bag with the PDF already pulled up on the screen.

Lastly, it is inevitable that at one point during the term, the professor who was so adamant against the laptop will have to request that the students bring it to class, whether that is for an online quiz or for the end of year professor evaluation.

It is just less trouble to allow laptops from the beginning. Less students will forget their reading, less will forget to bring it on the day of evaluations and, ultimately, you will be allowing a valuable source for supplemental material that can enhance class discussion.

The fear that students will Facebook during class is not unfounded – it certainly will happen – but those students would have found ways to not listen with or without Facebook.

In general, DU students want to succeed, and preventing the use of laptops in class causes more trouble than it should. I think it is time for professors across the board to allow laptops in their classes. It will provide a more functional environment both practically and academically.