In a number of classrooms across campus, a notable part of modern life is missing: technology. Rather than scribbling away with Apple Pencils, students write with ballpoint pens.
Despite the exploding popularity of digital note-taking, some professors are choosing to go tech-free.
For James Kuzner, a professor of English, a tech-free policy is nothing new. He has prohibited technology in his courses for the last 10 years.
When Kuzner was preparing to begin teaching at Brown, he sat in on a colleague’s Shakespeare class that allowed the use of computers.
“Two-thirds of the students had their computers up,” Kuzner said. “They were not using them to take notes. They were on Facebook. They were on ESPN.com. They were on Twitter. They were not paying attention to anything that she was saying.”
“I thought to myself, ‘I’m not living like that,’” he added.
During the first class of the semester, there is always a “brief flash of fury” on students’ faces when he tells them to put their computers away, Kuzner recalled.
Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro — an associate professor of political science — bans computers in larger lectures but allows them in smaller classes. To her, it seems “unreasonable and unrealistic” to print out long papers and book chapters for reading-heavy seminars.
Technology increases the likelihood of students multitasking, which is why Weitz-Shapiro began the device prohibition.
Weitz-Shapiro views banning technology as “giving students the opportunity to actually focus on one thing for 50 or 80 minutes.”
“It’s a gift to practice being denied the possibility of having your attention in multiple places at once,” she added.
Katherine Rieser, the director of teacher education and a senior lecturer in education, shares Weitz-Shapiro’s perspective on multitasking.
“When we talk about the idea of multitasking, what you’re really doing is flitting back and forth quickly between topics, as opposed to actually doing two things at once,” Rieser explained. While those “micro-movements” can feel productive, in reality, they are not, she added.
Rieser cited her own distraction while using computers as one of the reasons she banned technology. She teaches EDUC 1675: “The Psychology of Teaching and Learning,” where she is implementing a “completely analog” policy this semester for the first time.
No technology is allowed in Rieser’s course, with the exception of students with accommodations.
Kuzner has also considered the impact of his technology policy on students with accommodations, calling his screen ban “a little bit double-edged.”
“I do occasionally think about whether it’s the case that some students with these accommodations shy away from my classes because they don't want to feel self-conscious about needing their laptop or their tablet,” Kuzner said.
Researchers have tried to decipher the effect of technology’s increasingly large presence on learning.
A widely-cited 2014 study found that students typing their notes were more likely to transcribe what the professor was saying word-for-word than students writing notes on paper. The study found that typing notes verbatim decreases internalization and processing measures in the brain.
In addition, a 2024 study found that the physical process of handwriting notes helps the brain forge connections that facilitate learning.
But there are also times when technology use can benefit the classroom, according to Daniel Oppenheimer, a professor of psychology and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the authors of the 2014 study.
“The benefits and drawbacks of tech-free policies are nuanced and context dependent,” Oppenheimer wrote in an email to The Herald.
As long as students are staying on task, they can still learn effectively with computers, a 2020 study found. But the study also found that computers’ potential distractions decrease learning.
Despite the computers’ negative effects on learning, many professors allow and embrace technology.
Kuzner explained that the reason he thinks more teachers are not going technology-free is because they worry students will be deterred from enrolling in their class.
“We have such a competitive shopping period here,” he added.
Savannah Weathers ’27 took Weitz-Shapiro’s computer-free class last semester. She did not know that the class was tech-free before it started and typically takes notes on her computer or iPad.
“I don’t completely mind paper notes, but I think it is really helpful to have the option to use a computer,” Weathers said in an interview with The Herald.
Weathers noted that it was sometimes difficult to write down all the content from Weitz-Shapiro’s lectures. In retrospect, though, Weathers understood Weitz-Shapiro’s rationale.
“I do feel like it made me more engaged in the class,” Weathers said. “I could see why our professor wanted to do it.”
Leah Koritz is a senior staff writer covering science & research. Leah is from Dover, Massachusetts and studies Public Health and Judaic Studies. In her free time, Leah enjoys hiking, watching the Red Sox and playing with her dog, Boba.
