Students Are Better Off Without a Laptop in the Classroom
If students aren’t engaged, they aren’t going to become star pupils once you take away their distractions.  Perhaps kids attend more lectures than before <i>knowing</i> that they can always listen in while futzing with other things (and otherwise, they may skip some of the classes entirely).<p>The lecture <i>format</i> is what needs changing.  You need a <i>reason</i> to go to class, and there was nothing worse than a professor showing slides from the pages of his own book (say) or droning through anything that could be Googled and read in less time.  If there isn’t some live demonstration, or lecture-only material, regular quizzes or other hook, you can’t expect students to fully engage.