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<p>While I can get along with pen and paper and agree with your point about the need to synthesize, some people don’t write fast enough to even catch the important highlights in a given lecture/discussion. </p>
<p>Moreover, I would never advise a student leave portable electronics like a laptop/tablet. I’m of the opinion such devices should always be carried by the student unless they live in a single and they always lock the door to their dorm room before leaving for class. It just takes one careless roommate who’s not security minded for a thief to gain access and to abscond with various items…especially portable ones like laptops/tablets.</p>
<p>Heck, back when I was in college, thieves would go so far as to steal desktop computers…including monitors which weighed 50 Ibs+. Happened in a friend’s freshman dorm back in the mid’90s.</p>