CELL PHONES AND SMART WATCHES:
Cell phones and smart watches are not to be used during class time. Please do not bring them to class. If you simply must bring one (or if you forget to leave it in your room), I would recommend powering it down before class begins. Regardless, your device should not be visible to anyone--me, you, or your classmates--during class, and it should be silenced. If I see you interacting with your device during class--or if any of us hear it--I will ask you to leave the classroom immediately and not return until the next class meeting. If texting, using social media, or attending to tasks other than the class material is more important to you than paying attention in class on a given day, that's perfectly fine....but in that case, please just don't come to class that day. If you must keep your device on because of an emergency situation, please inform me beforehand.
LAPTOP COMPUTERS:
Like cell phones and smart watches, laptops are not to be used during class time. Students should not even use a laptop for taking notes, because once a laptop is on, it becomes too tempting to multitask (which, evidence suggests, is not really possible to do effectively). I will pass around a recent article from the New York Times on the first day of class that spells out the basis for my decision to ban laptops in my classrooms this year (if you miss the first day of class and would like to read the article, please feel free to email me about this). Although it might be a challenging adjustment to revert to the old-school way of taking notes during lectures or discussions--using a pen and paper--it has become clear that students in a laptop-free classroom learn better than students in classrooms where laptops are permitted (even just for note-taking). As a behavioral scientist, I have to trust the data that come from well-controlled experimental studies, and as an educator, I have to do what will leave my students with the best educational experience I can provide. Based on the empirical facts and on my goals as an educator, it seems clear that a ban on laptops in the classroom is well advised.
If you need a special accommodation that would allow you to use a laptop during class time--such as for a documented learning disability or some other distinctive situation that requires the use of a laptop—please come speak with me. One way or another, we'll find a way to work things out satisfactorily for you.
AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDINGS:
Please ask my permission if you really think you need to make an audio recording of the class. If I do give you permission to record the class, the recording must be for your personal use ONLY and must be deleted at the end of the semester. I do not permit any video recording or photography while in class, as these are not really necessary; I will provide PowerPoint slides (and any associated video clips) on Sakai (as copyright permits).