University students--do you take your laptops to class?

Post by **Zaia** » 2007-07-20 02:57pm

Help a geezer out, please? When I was at uni for my undergrad, I didn't know anyone who brought their laptops with them to class to take notes on. But now I hear about some private middle schools in Baltimore where students are expected to have laptops in order to bring them to class. Is this the norm now? Do students typically bring their computers to class?

I'm asking because I have a number of bags, including a decent laptop bag and a couple of messenger bags that I've used as schoolbags or to carry my percussion books in. But I don't have any that are designed to carry both books and a laptop, and I don't want to show up to class everyday with a bunch of bags like I'm moving in or something. But, I'd also not like to bother spending money on a combo bag if I can help it. (I've been eyeing up the Crumpler bags which I've heard are good but are rather pricey.)

So, let me know what's normal at your school nowadays. Thanks!

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-07-20 03:10pm

You can certainly use Laptops in the lectures here, you just have to find sufficient room, which generally involves kicking your neighbour in the nadgers.

And as for lots of bags...just be a normal type of person and get a rucksack, and for all those extra things, a plastic bag.

Post by **Dalton** » 2007-07-20 03:14pm

I saw laptops all the time at Hofstra, especially when I was taking classes with a guy we nicknamed Space Station. He oftentimes brought in his own equipment rather than rely on the school rigs.

Post by **Zaia** » 2007-07-20 03:17pm

Dartzap wrote:You can certainly use Laptops in the lectures here, you just have to find sufficient room, which generally involves kicking your neighbour in the nadgers.

I'm hoping to make at least one friend while at school, so I don't think I'll start off kicking anyone in the anywhere.

Dartzap wrote:And as for lots of bags...just be a normal type of person and get a rucksack, and for all those extra things, a plastic bag.

For all what extra things? A little plastic bag isn't going to protect my beloved PowerBook from getting scratched or possibly banged up by the other school supplies I'll have with me. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing I'll have a fair amount of books and notebooks and things to bring to class, and I don't want them messing up my computer if I'm expected to bring it with me. If not, then I'll just use one of my normal bags, but if it's normal to bring it, I want to make sure it's adequately protected.

Dalton wrote:I saw laptops all the time at Hofstra, especially when I was taking classes with a guy we nicknamed Space Station. He oftentimes brought in his own equipment rather than rely on the school rigs.

*grins* Nice. I don't want that to be me.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2007-07-20 03:18pm

I used to.

Then I stopped taking classes that needed a laptop, like essay writing classes, and started loading up on all math. Pretty useless to bring a laptop to math class, unless you have one of those tablet laptops you can write on.

And when it comes to notes, I don't trust laptops or computers. Shit can be deleted, erased. No doubt computer people will come in and say computers are reliable, but that's not the point. Even a 1% chance of failure is unacceptable. I don't know exactly how a computer works and exactly how to recover data if a disaster happens. It would be a huge hassle. Meanwhile, hard copies on paper I know how to safeguard. I've had USB pens fail on me, floppy disks fail on me, hard drives fail on me. I've never had a piece of paper randomly disintegrate for no reason I can understand or prevent.

So laptops for teh lose. Networked school? Total waste of time and money. If you can use a low-tech solution for something it is infinitely better than a high-tech solution. It's like using a forcefield in Star Trek to protect against a dangerous infection when a plastic container or door would do.

Most students surf and play games and look at girls during lecture instead of taking notes too, so a laptop is disruptive. I am distracted by a computer and most students are too. When there's solitaire or MSN just a click away, you're tempted to dick around.

Also, never carry laptops in "laptop knapsacks". Bring a regular knapsack with a laptop in it instead. The shock protection is less, but losers roam about looking for certain kinds of bags, and if they see a laptop knapsack you're painting a big bullseye on your chest.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-07-20 03:19pm

Hence the rucksack

The plastic bag is just if you don't have any room for stuff that won't get in the rucksack, which is not that common really - a normal sized Rucksack can carry a fair amount of stuff really and they generally have dividers, so you can separate your various belongings. (I hope your bringing US/UK power adapter to charge that thing, by the by)

Sturmfalke · Post by **Sturmfalke** » 2007-07-20 03:23pm

brianeyci wrote:Also, never carry laptops in "laptop knapsacks". Bring a regular knapsack with a laptop in it instead. The shock protection is less, but losers roam about looking for certain kinds of bags, and if they see a laptop knapsack you're painting a big bullseye on your chest.

If you bring a laptop to classes, you can never let it unattended which I think is a great disadvantage. Furthermore, as brianeyci pointed out, for some classes it's just not useful.

Post by **Zaia** » 2007-07-20 03:28pm

Thanks, brian, that was quite helpful.

The bags I was looking at are, to my eye, anyway, normal-looking bags. They have something that isn't even a bag, but just a protective zip-up case that would keep it from getting scratched in a regular bag (the MacBook Pro School Hymn 15" for $50), which might be a good idea. But they also have actual backpacks with a sleeve built in for laptops, and separate compartments for textbooks and other supplies (I was liking the size of the Beer Back bag, but not enjoying the price much, at $170). Here's the website if you're interested: Crumpler bags.

I'm going to have to be doing a lot of walking around campus, so although I usually do the over-the-shoulder messenger bag thing, I might regret doing that if I've got a laptop *and* books in there too.

Post by **Zaia** » 2007-07-20 03:34pm

Dartzap wrote:Hence the rucksack The plastic bag is just if you don't have any room for stuff that won't get in the rucksack, which is not that common really - a normal sized Rucksack can carry a fair amount of stuff really and they generally have dividers, so you can separate your various belongings. (I hope your bringing US/UK power adapter to charge that thing, by the by)

Oh, I thought you were saying that the plastic bag would be in the...nevermind.

Also, all the backpacks/rucksacks I've ever owned have had one main section and then much smaller compartments for things like pens or loose change. I've never owned one that had separate sleeves or compartments so that my computer could be kept away from my books, notepads, or whatever other supplies I'll have. Since it sounds like it's probably not expected for me to bring my laptop to class, I probably won't worry about it, but since Cambridge is a bit of a fancy place like that private school I mentioned in my OP, I wasn't sure if they'd have similar requirements (and at that middle school, a laptop computer is mandatory).

My computer has a power adapter built into its power cord. I need to get a plug adaptor, but the power one is already taken care of. Thanks for reminding me about it, though.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2007-07-20 03:55pm

You'll find that if you look in the right stores you can pick up a good solid rucksack with a padded compartment for about $10. My current laptop bag cost me just £5 from a store in town.

Boyish-Tigerlilly · Post by **Boyish-Tigerlilly** » 2007-07-20 04:14pm

I usually take my lappie to the class primarily because I am a slow writer and have difficulty keeping pace with the teacher's click-happy powerpoint lectures and ridiculously fast talking speed.

There is a chance something can go wrong, but I try to build redundancy into my note system by having several different USB flash drives and an online copy of all of them in gmail.

lazerus · Post by **lazerus** » 2007-07-20 04:30pm

I bring my laptop to class, it's usefull for taking notes, and for surfing the net when the teacher is explaining (in a 200 level engineering class) how to do basic calculus.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2007-07-20 04:39pm

Keevan_Colton wrote:You'll find that if you look in the right stores you can pick up a good solid rucksack with a padded compartment for about $10. My current laptop bag cost me just £5 from a store in town.

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The problem with those bags is that that simple foam padding provides very little protection against drops. In order to get reasonable protection it'll cost a fair bit more than that.

Brenthaven is a pretty value, IMHO, but they will cost about US$100 for a briefcase-style laptop case. Victorinox, Tumi and Zero Halliburton are also good choices, too, but are quite pricey (that said, in the area I find older out-of-style Victorinox laptop cases for much less than MSRP at discount stores like Marshall's)

Brian's advice is good, too - I personally find a spiral-notebook to be the best way for me to take notes for courses, even in a computer-science major! I do use a laptop when I bring it to class, and not just for twiddling around, but nothing quite beats pen-and-paper

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2007-07-20 04:41pm

Tablet PC. I can either handwrite my notes (and draw diagrams), or type em up. I've seen a few other people with em.

I have a targus backpack which has two side pockets which are sized perfectly for holding drinks, a subdivided internal compartment with a padded pocket for the laptop, and another internal compartment for holding pens & pencils on the odd occasion I have to write on paper.

muse · Post by **muse** » 2007-07-20 05:14pm

I finished university less than two years ago and no, I did not use a laptop in any of my classes unless it was for making a presentation of some sort on the overhead screens. Pen & paper all the way, it's simple and almost immune to Murphy's Law, with a computer it takes just one little hiccup and "Oh my god I just lost a month's worth of notes and the midterm is in 3 days!!!" I don't need that kind of drama in my life.

CaptJodan · Post by **CaptJodan** » 2007-07-20 05:19pm

Yes, with several posts on SDN made whilst at school and either waiting between classes or waiting for the professor to get to the point.

As observed, it's useful for some classes, especially teachers who want you taking down a lot of notes, but not as useful for math courses.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for everyone, but I've been going with my laptop for a long while just in my regular school backpack. Always intended to get a real pack for it, but never got around to it. Still works and intend to do it through Masters as well.

ArmorPierce · Post by **ArmorPierce** » 2007-07-20 05:41pm

I see someone bringing one to class every so often but not for the most part. A lot of teachers at my university don't even allow you to bring one.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2007-07-20 06:37pm

I never took mine to class out of fear that I would drop it and the realization that it was easier just to print/write down notes, although there's exactly one person in every class I'm in that brings their laptop with them.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2007-07-20 07:01pm

I did, but not nearly as much as I expected to. I don't think it's a massive improvement over paper.

Dark Lord of the Bith · Post by **Dark Lord of the Bith** » 2007-07-20 07:06pm

My college as of this coming Fall is requiring all incoming Freshmen to have a laptop, though not necessarily to bring it to class every day. I rarely saw anyone with one in class though last year, and most of the time the desks were just too small, but that certainly depends on the classroom.

I have no idea how well this requirement is going to pan out. There were debates throughout the past year, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I personally never took mine to class because I never really needed to. The most traveling my lappy did was to the student union or cafe to play Starcraft on the wireless network (though I only did that twice). During class, pencil and notebook sufficed, and it's easier that way when there are tons of equations involved.

Steel · Post by **Steel** » 2007-07-20 07:14pm

Personally i dont take my laptop to lectures, but thats partially to do with the fact that i normally come from training before lectures, and so i dont really want to have my laptop sitting in the changing rooms for 2 hours unattended and then stuffed in with some sweaty kit.

In my lectures (maths) there are some people (~10 of about 200) that bring their laptops, but thats in part due to the nature of the notes you take in maths lectures. In other subjects i think that more people bring theirs though. I dont think that there are a large number of people that bring theirs compared to some other places though, someone i know on exchange from MIT said that there most people always bring their laptops.

Also i dont think that anyone discourages people from bringing a laptop to their lectures.

Feil · Post by **Feil** » 2007-07-20 07:40pm

The only time I take a laptop to class is if class is mandatory but I plan on doing something else while I'm sitting there. So, no.

Post by **Surlethe** » 2007-07-20 07:58pm

It's not an improvement at all over pen and paper. I take my laptop to class every once in a while, but only if I'm planning on ignoring what the teacher's saying; more usually, I take notes with a pen in a notebook. What sort of classes do people take that not only is it easier to take notes with a computer but the distraction afforded by gaming and the internet outweighs the ease of note-taking?

Ravencrow · Post by **Ravencrow** » 2007-07-20 07:59pm

My workplace is on university grounds and it seems to be the norm over here for university students to bring around their own laptops, if I'm not mistaken, it's almost essential now in universities and polytechnics to have one to work on the go, take notes, download stuff the lecturer puts up etc. If they can't afford one, they can loan one at a low cost.

Post by **Zaia** » 2007-07-20 08:16pm

Surlethe wrote:It's not an improvement at all over pen and paper.

Well, I don't know. I can type wicked-fast, don't game and would probably be able to watch what was going on better if I was typing, but it's a bit noisy and possibly distracting for everyone. However, that wasn't really the bit that had me concerned--I thought it might be possible that schools were making it mandatory to bring laptops to class. If some local middle school could do it, then it seemed at least reasonably likely that universities might have adopted the same regulation.

I'm doing my degree in education, so I'm not sure how useful or not it would be to take my notes directly onto my computer or not, but I was really just trying to gauge whether or not the computer note-taking was a widespread thing.