<p>Do most students carry their laptops around campus whereever they go? Or is it more for those classes that are notes-intensive, such as history or English classes? Do most students just leave them in their dorm rooms and take hand-written notes in class?</p>
<p>I never took my laptop to class except for my UGS class (Offensive Art w/Dr. Dempster). Most students that I know are either on Facebook, playing WoW, or just messing around instead of taking notes.</p>
<p>I’m the kind of person that likes writing instead of typing notes in class because the desk’s are small and my laptop (HP) took up too much space.</p>
<p>What pecentage of the students would you say brought their laptops with them in most of your classes?</p>
<p>I bring a laptop to most of my classes. The only classes I don’t bring it to are math, science, and discussion-oriented classes. But since I’m a Liberal Arts major, the majority of my classes are lectures where you need to take a lot of notes, so it really comes in handy.</p>
<p>I’d say around 35-40% of students bring a laptop to class.</p>
<p>I’ll just add a few more statistics into the mix.
Electrical Engineering Classes of ~50 students:
-maybe 3-5 laptops, 3 of which are on facebook, 3 of which tend to fail their tests
-5 people taking rigorous notes by hand
-30 taking notes on the high points
-2 sleeping
-3 playing cell phone games</p>
<p>Into to Bio I class of ~100:
-at first* 3-5 people texting/angry birds/words with friends
-at first** 15 laptops, 2 of which are in the front row taking notes, the remainder are on facebook
-remainder of class is taking decent notes/paying attention
<em>before Professor took 1/5 of class to explain his policy on texting
*</em>before the professor was anonymously reviewed by some department and told that too many of his students were on facebook and followed up with an angry email to all students over the weekend and banned laptops from his class unless a student had his expressed permission</p>
<p>Genetics class of ~50-
-20 laptops, 1-2 of which are on facebook, the remainder take good notes
-20 are taking thorough notes by hand
-5 don’t care</p>
<p>Moral of the story: If have trouble paying attention in class normally, do not bring your laptop as you will only distract yourself and everyone behind you.
This is only my perspective but I believe that laptops should only be allowed in the first few rows as these are typically the only students who use them responsibly. I bring my laptop with me but only to do homework between classes. I pretend like I’m in high school by telling myself that I will work from 8-3/whenever class ends. Therefore, I stay around the engineering area during the day, save myself the lost walking time (~30 minutes a day) and get homework done early. Sorry for the rambling but I was just expressing what I saw work and not work. I know the numbers don’t add up but they tend to fluctuate anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks, that was a really helpful post. I have another question though: what are your thoughts on netbooks? Do alot of students use them or bring them to class for notes since they are more portable? Or does everyone just stick to their big laptops?</p>
<p>@frever - Why all the laptop hate? Some people are perfectly capable of staying on task with a computer. I’m not sure what the problem is with your classes, but the majority of people I see with laptops are just taking notes. The only people who seem to waste their class time on Facebook are the ones who sit in the back.</p>
<p>I find it easier to take notes on a laptop, since I type much faster than I write. My handwriting is also a bit messy, so having everything typed out makes it easier to study.</p>
<p>As for netbooks: some people use them, but I’d say the majority stick with normal laptops.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman business major. They don’t allow laptops in business classes so I’ll talk about other courses. I do not use laptops in any of my classes.</p>
<p>Not many people bring laptops to class. In about a large lecture class of 100-200 (calculus, economics, intro to [insert science here], etc), maybe 15-30 use laptops.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen, most people don’t take notes. They are on facebook, playing tetris, watching ESPN, on AIM, or shopping for clothing.</p>
<p>The few people who stay somewhat-on-task in class usually end up doing homework for another class, the homework due that night, with facebook minimized, but still open. But not taking notes.</p>
<p>Netbooks: I see a few. Still not as many as the 50% of mac users. I personally don’t like netbooks. But each person to their own.</p>
<p>frever also gives a pretty good and accurate explanation of what happens.</p>
<p>Yeah I’m sorry for hating so hard but a couple of my friends always bring laptops to class and end up not paying attention. It kinda bugs me when they end up getting bad grades and aren’t happy with them yet continue to bring their laptops to class. Though I didn’t highlight it, I meant to show that laptops were largely employed successfully in my genetics class. It is the only one of my classes which really requires serious note-taking. Still, having a laptop out in calculus is a lost cause. I should probably revise my statement to: Bring a laptop only if you actually plan on taking notes on it. If you take it out and aren’t actively using it to take notes, then you’ve given yourself an unneeded temptation/distraction.
However, the numbers that I gave were not skewed and accurately represent what I see on a day to day basis in my classes.</p>
<p>Well, having a laptop out in a Calculus class does seem a bit unnecessary. I don’t bring mine to science, math, or discussion classes.</p>
<p>It all comes down to how focused you are, really. If you’re easily distracted, bringing a laptop to class will usually end in disaster.</p>
<p>I have a desktop and a netbook, and I’m actually really glad I made that choice. I prefer to take notes by hand but I have had a couple of classes where I’ve type my notes, and having a portable computer available was nice. Plus, only having to cary around a little netbook all over campus is a plus.</p>
<p>Ace6904, do really half of the students at UT have Macbooks instead of PC? I know I shouldn’t really buy a Mac for popularity reasons, but I don’t want to end up being one of the few people on campus that use PCs while the majority are using Macbooks. Then I’d probably end up switching to a Macbook and wasting even more money as opposed to having bought one from the beginning. For example, I remember buying a non-Apple mp3 player about 5 years ago. It didn’t take long for me to feel left out by being the only one without an iPod, and within a year or so I switched to an iPod. I don’t want that same thing to happen here with my laptop…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>you’re asking yourself the wrong questions man… 5 years ago puts you in middle school. Everyone may have cared then but you’re in college now. Who’s got the newest or best gadgets doesn’t matter anymore especially because they can all do almost the same things. I’d recommend picking a laptop based on what makes the most sense for you, not your neighbor. Honestly, if you’re worried about your popularity then you should know that blowing another 800+ dollars on a laptop just to be the same as everyone else isn’t in your best interest. People respect self-confidence. Be a leader, not a follower.</p>
<p>btw, you even questioned if half of UT “really” used Macs “instead” of PCs so I’m sure that you know PCs are generally popular. I promise that if you get a PC, you will not be “one of the few people on campus” using one.</p>
<p>Just get whatever kind of laptop you’re comfortable with. I’m a Liberal Arts major, so the majority I see in my classes are Macs, but it’s really not a big deal at all. No one’s going to “judge you” based on what laptop you’re using.</p>
<p>It’s not a matter of being “judged”…it’s more of a personal thing. I mean, when you see the majority of people with Macbooks, you’d probably want one yourself. Just like how everyone CAN opt to buy a much cheaper yet still perfectly functional Zune mp3, but most everyone chooses an iPod because that’s what the LARGE majority of society prefers. (Yes, I know conformity isn’t always the best choice, but I don’t think the “Be a non-conformist” argument really applies here).</p>
<p>Forgive a parent interjection… </p>
<p>My college graduate daughter stopped carrying her laptop to class midway through her first semester. Said it was definitely a distraction and she hated the extra weight in her backpack. She eventually left her laptop in her room and began carrying a netbook for small tasks between classes when she couldn’t get back to her dorm/apt. If she had it to do over, she says she would have gone with the desktop and netbook combo.</p>
<p>btw…she DID say her smart pen was very helpful for note-taking and note-sharing. Amazing the things that can be done with that pen. </p>
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<p>Usability and value.
- Some office applications do not work on Mac (MS Access)
- If you buy a non-mac, you have more choice on colors, HDD, processor, etc
- From a business perspective (since I’m a business major), Apple is NOT used much (only 14%) in the business world
- You can buy 1 good laptop for the price of 1 decent mac</p>
<p>I’ve always used a Mac & definitely prefer it over Windows computers however the mention of how little Macs are used in the business world (I’m going into McCombs) makes me second guess upgrading to a MacBook Pro this summer. Should I switch over to a Windows laptop instead? Or should I just get bootcamp on my Mac? Hmm…decisions. If I do switch over to Windows, do you guys have any good recommendations for a light laptop that works well? The main reason I prefer Macs is that Windows tend to be bulky. Any suggestions would be appreciated!</p>
<p>I personally carry my laptop everywhere with me. I don’t have internet on my phone and my life is scheduled on google calendar. I have a 13.5 inch HP so its not that bad. There are plenty of people with Macs on campus but just the same, there are many with PCs, I wouldn’t say one is more popular than the other. </p>
<p>I used my laptop in class in my business, bio, UGS, government, and advertising classes, pretty much the ones that require a lot of notes. Some classes don’t allow you to use electronics during class (Spanish 1 & 2) and math classes like statistics and calculus are much better being hand-written. My friend in engineering started with a Mac but now just uses it for entertainment purposes. She had to get a PC because it was better to do programming on.</p>
<p>It really depends on your study habits and the classes you’re taking. I’ve used both Mac and PC (it is good to know both) but still prefer PC, and would definitely not consider buying a Mac just because I see other people use it.</p>