Disadvantages

The following are some disadvantages of laptop use:

1. Students become easily distracted and use the notebook computers for purposes other than course-related activities. One way to prevent this from getting out-of-hand is to have "screen-up" and "screen-down" times. The computers go into a standby-mode when the screen is closed if the machine is still turned on - so a screen-up/down strategy is fast.

2. Students become easily distracted and use the notebook computers for purposes other than course-related activities. One way to prevent this from getting out-of-hand is to have "screen-up" and "screen-down" times. The computers go into a standby-mode when the screen is closed if the machine is still turned on - so a screen-up/down strategy is fast.

3. You may be teaching in classrooms with inappropriate furniture. If there are no power outlets, students can rely on batteries in their laptops... but they need to have the where-with-all to charge their notebooks earlier. If the classroom you use does not have appropriate desk surfaces, you should consult with the chair of your department. A number of classrooms have or will be upgraded with new furniture to enable the use of the notebooks.

http://ltc.udayton.edu/faculty/eclassroom/disadvantages.htm