<p>In two of the classes my D started this week, the prof has banned all electronic devices from the classroom. She's a senior, and this is the first time this has happened. D has slow, tortured and terrible handwriting and has difficulty organizing information on a page without the help of electronic formatting. This derives from a mild learning disability that she has not been tested for since middle school nor registered with the school, because she is easily able to work around it without special accommodations--until now. </p>
<p>I understand that many students will checking Facebook if allowed to have laptops in class, and I certainly can appreciate how offensive that is to a prof. There have been discussions on this topic on CC before, and I'm not trying to raise the topic again. My concern now is my D's predicament. She plans to plead her case to the prof, but I'm not sanguine about how successful she'll be. At this point in her college career (last semester), we aren't going to spend several thousand dollars to get her re-tested and formally registered as disabled--apart from the cost, half the semester would be over before that could be accomplished. </p>
<p>What I'm thinking is that there must be some kind of device without internet access that will allow my D to take notes on a keyboard with formatting. I think she could "sell" this alternative to each prof if the are at all reasonable. Can anyone suggest something? Any other ideas besides dropping the classes? She's pretty frantic. I'm beyond annoyed at the profs' draconian approach.</p>
<p>Talk to the prof. I would okay it for my classes. But other students will question it and without the disability support services exception it could be a problem. Good luck.</p>
<p>It is really frustrating in this age of technology. There is so much cheating and so many distractions.</p>
<p>get her a livescribe pen. It will record as whe writes and I believe when she puts her pen to the word it’ll go to that place on the recording. Seriously cool <a href=“http://www.livescribe.com%5B/url%5D”>www.livescribe.com</a> It will also send the notes to evernote (a computer/phone app)</p>
<p>All she can do is ask him for an exception, but her options may be limited since the disability is not registered. She could tell him she has a minor disability, has been taking electronic notes in all classes, and show him her handwriting samples… also commit to turning off her access to the internet, etc. If he still says no, ask if she can at least record the class.</p>
<p>MommaJ - I have a great suggestion for you! </p>
<p>It’s called “Sky with smartpen” by Livescribe. We recently bought one at an Apple store, but I know they have been available from Amazon in the past. The pen writes with ink like any other writing instrument, but it’s used with a special dot paper notebook, and has a microphone in the pen cap. Later, wherever you tap on the written notes, you can replay the audio for whatever you missed or want to hear again. It also automatically sends the notes and audio to a computer program called Evernote, which can then be searched or replayed from any device. $200 plus the cost of the notebooks - but it equips a student to be able to capture the information.</p>
<p>My son has dysgraphia - simply cannot write fast enough, or legibly, and also has difficulty organizing it - and he has this as backup for any professor who will not allow typing of notes. He does have recent documentation (and since 3rd grade), and he plans to apply for notetaking assistance/use of classroom laptop for notes at college if necessary, but this is his backup.</p>
<p>It does require a computer for maximum usefulness, but my son LOVES the Evernote program even when he types on his computer.</p>
<p>Thank you! I’ve sent along the Livescribe info to D. (I wonder though if that’s one of the “electronic devices” that would be banned? Though maybe it’s not obvious that it’s not just a pen.) But she’s fast typist, and I think she’d just like to be able to type her notes into a word processing program as she’s done for 7 semesters.</p>
<p>I think the least a prof should do is indicate in his course description that he’s a martinet on electronic devices, so students can choose their classes accordingly. I’m just so annoyed that I’d have to spend one penny on this nonsense, considering how much I’m paying in tuition!</p>
<p>I’ve known of several students with written language disabilities who have successfully used the Livescribe pens/notebooks along with evernote. It’s an excellent alternative when electronics are not allowed in the class. Another option may be to ask if there is a student in the class who has previously designated themselves as willing to share their notes through the professor with students who are out of class due to illness or disability. The professor may be more willing to allow sharing of notes then allowing one student a laptop to take notes. I would have your DD show the professor her previous notes taken on her computer to show that she is indeed taking notes that way. Best of luck in working this out.</p>
<p>A cheaper device is the Alphasmart Neo - it’s a very basic, archaic-looking electronic keyboard with no internet connectivity. Many writers swear by it because you can type without any IM/email/internet distractions. It’s around fifty bucks, works on an AA battery forever, wighs very littel and is pretty much indestructible. My D’s can hold 8 active documents at a time, you plug it into your computer to upload the text after you type.</p>
<p>Ahhh, the alphasmart. My S1 wasn’t a fan of that thing, but yes it would work. I’m not sure what the current versions are like now. When he used it back in elementary school he could only see a few lines of text at a time which made it impossible to visually scan a page or reference anything a few sentences earlier easily.</p>
<p>For a minute there I thought I might have an Alphasmart or two stored in the closet - the last one was called a Dana, operated on a Palm OS platform and had infrared for printing - very cool (Alphasmart never knew exactly what to do with the product, and IMO blew an opportunity to to take it beyond the education market). Problem is with the limited display and the glare from some kinds of lighting. Also, still looks like an electronic device. DS hated his - said it was only barely functional for word processing, since it’s pretty much limited to just straight typing.</p>
<p>My D wasn’t really a fan either and was always too self-conscious to use it in school, but when she was in a major distractibility phase in middle school she would sometimes do her HW or other writing on it - she’d format and edit after uploading to the computer. But it would allow for typing notes at least.</p>
<p>I think that her first stop should be with the prof., and her second should be with the disabilities office if the prof requires back-up for this exception. Whatever ancient records she has could be enough to get the help she needs. If not, the disabilities office should be able to help her update her testing. Not necessarily an immediate help, I know, but worth pursuing. She has to think ahead: in grad school or the workplace she could easily run up against no-tech-because-I-say-so situations where current disabilities paperwork would make all the difference.</p>
<p>Tape recorders are inefficient. If anything, and if technology is permitted, she should use a digital recorder… or accidentally turn on the recording function of her smartphone :)</p>
<p>Talking to the prof is clearly her first step. It may even turn out that the format of the class is more interactive and less lecture/note taking oriented. </p>
<p>If that doesn’t work, try the department chair, to make sure this policy is part of an official departmental stance. The prof may have simply gotten tired of looking out and seeing half the class texting/facebooking etc and put a rogue antitech policy into the syllabus.</p>
<p>It’s worth checking with the disabilities office, but I suspect the older IEP accommodations won’t be accepted.</p>
<p>I know people who have gotten accommodations without having gone through testing. I think a conversation with the disabilities office is a good idea. If they can’t force the professor to accommodate, they could still have good advice about approaching the professor, devices to try, cheaper testing options, etc.</p>
It seems like you are very irritated without her even having asked yet if she can have something unobtrusive for her note-taking. She’s a senior, and shouldn’t be intimidated to speak to her professors as a freshman might be. </p>
<p>Personally, I haven’t had to resort to telling students they can’t have electronics in the classroom, but if it becomes an issue I will come to you for advice on the matter.</p>