Oh, the poor students who were banned from using their computers in class. Many students at my seminary would be lost without their laptop. More than half use their laptop in class. They even have a very weak connection to the Internet in the classrooms.
I think that it is way too late in these students careers for the professor to take away a learning tool that they have probably had their entire academic career. All of their college career they probably learned how to take notes on their computer and then used those notes in preparation for the midterms and finals. Taking notes on the computer allows you to outline the material for easier memorization. It is really hard to take hand written notes and then type them into the computer — it is time consuming and leads to many errors. I take my notes by hand, so I know how hard this can be.
Technology has improved the students ability to accumulate and process material. These professors need to understand this and have to learn how to better incorporate the technology into their presentation, otherwise they risk losing students to more technologically advanced institutions. This student has the right idea:

Student Cory Winsett says if he must continue without his laptop, he’ll transfer to another school. Winsett says he won’t be able to keep up if he has to rely on hand-written notes, which he says are incomplete and less organized.

Read more about it here.
(Link via the Drudge Report)