15 year faculty member here. I had a question for both students and fellow instructors out there...

Since the time I started teaching at CSULB, one of the biggest shifts in classroom dynamics is that the advent of smartphones and accessibility of laptops means that many students have access to screen devices of some sort.

Some students use them for notes. Many do not.

And because of where I am in the classroom, it's pretty clear to me when folks are on their devices for "learning purposes" vs. those who are not. And to be really blunt: it sucks to be trying to teach when you can visibly see students being distracted by their own devices. I'd rather have a student fall asleep on me, by comparison.

In the past, I've simply banned devices outright and there's plenty of research that supports such a policy because of how they are distracting for other students. But I have friends who are disability activists who point out that blunt tech bans make learning harder for students with autism, ADHD, or other learning disabilities. I don't want a blanket policy that ends up suffocating people's learning opportunities, if that makes sense.

My question: have you been in classrooms — especially larger (100 student) ones — that have found a workable "middle ground"?