Don't Bring Your Laptop To Lecture

It's a bad idea to bring your laptop to lecture, even if it's just to take notes. Here's why:

Your laptop is a HUGE distraction.

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This one is obvious. No matter how much self-control you have, it's difficult to resist the temptation of sites like Facebook or stop yourself from checking your email, especially during a boring lecture. Even if you only look up materials related to your lecture, which might seem like a productive use of time, you're really just distracting yourself from the lecturer. If there's really something you don't understand, make a note of it and look it up later.

You will improve your ability to process and memorize information.

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Writing out notes manually takes more time than typing them. You might think that because you can take down everything you want to immediately, you’ll end up learning more. Contrary to intuition, you actually learn more when you write because it's a slower process.. When you can’t take something down immediately, you have to think about it for longer, using what’s called your working memory. The longer something’s in your working memory and the longer you mull over it, the more likely you are to memorize it. Using your working memory while listening to someone speak is a skill that can be learned and improved.

You will become better at everyday tasks.

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The better you are at using your working memory, the better you’ll come off in everyday situations (like conversations, for instance—remember how many times you forgot someone’s name right after they introduced themselves?) The ability to use your working memory effectively also prevents you from forgetting what you’re doing while you’re doing it (the “why did I come in this room?” phenomenon). In short, you will become better at anything that involves short term memory.

Your professors will like you better.

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It’s unfortunate, but most (yes, maybe not all) professors don’t like laptop use. Giving a lecture is like having a conversation with a class full of people. You don’t like it when someone looks at their phone while you’re talking to them, do you? Well, most professors don’t like it when you’re staring intently at your laptop screen and not at them. Traditional note-taking tends not to bother them as much because they’re more used to it. In addition, there won’t be any suspicion that you’re just ignoring them while watching muted videos of cats on YouTube.

You might avoid a catastrophe.

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Eventually, your computer will crash. You don’t want your precious notes on it when it does. Yes, this is a null point if you’re using Google docs or something similar that saves your information elsewhere automatically, but the fact is that many people use regular word processing software. You’ll never have to worry about your notebook vanishing into thin air.

You won’t distract the people around you.

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Studies show that your laptop use distracts not only yourself, but also those around you. Distracted students end up with lower grades. So if you don’t care about your own grade, at least be considerate to those around you and take notes using pen and paper.