I think banning laptops is a good idea, but I think it should be coupled with other study aids, like fully recorded lectures to let students learn in their own

I think banning laptops is a good idea, but I think it should be coupled with other study aids, like fully recorded lectures to let students learn in their own way. One of the best lecturers I had at university passed round a printed copy of the lecture summary at the start, allowing students to concentrate on making their own notes & transcribing the lecture that the article talks about. Many, many other lecturers objected though to lectures being recorded (by individual students, e.g. dictaphone, we didn't have campus-wide video/audio recording). Most meetings are completely different beasts to lectures, I think — e.g. if you have ten people round a table in a room, people should be participants not audience members; the dynamic is completely different. That said, I would agree with banning laptops from meetings for the most part!