The below is excerpted from the Hum 10a. A Humanities Colloquium: From Homer to Descartes Fall 2015 syllabus:
Course Policies
Electronics
Laptops and other portable electronic devices are not permitted in lecture. The reasons for this policy are: (a) their use may be distracting to others around you; (b) their use may be distracting to you (who can resist the temptation to check FB or email or texts?); and (c) note-taking on a laptop often amounts to passively taking dictation, which is not an effective strategy for processing the material. If you are a veteran laptop note-taker, give pen and paper a try! If you have a special reason to use a device (or if you try the pen and paper technology and it is a disaster for you), please contact your seminar leader or TF. Note: seminar policies on device use may vary.