Laptops in the Classroom?

Ian Ayres raises a very interesting point. Should we have an explicit policy limiting laptop use during class to class-related activities only - unless a professor says otherwise? Or are we dealing with a generation of multi-taskers that can surf the web, play solitaire, IM their friends, and listen/learn - all at the same time? Or - at least with college students - are we dealing with adults who should be allowed to make their own choices? Lots of questions - few answers. My own take - if you engage your students, they will close their laptops!
Surfing the Class - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog:

Several years ago I watched a particularly memorable “Law Revue” skit night at Yale. One of the skits had a group of students sitting at desks, facing the audience, listening to a professor drone on.

All of the students were looking at laptops except for one, who had a deck of cards and was playing solitaire. The professor was outraged and demanded that the student explain why she was playing cards. When she answered “My laptop is broken,” I remember there was simultaneously a roar of laughter from the student body and a gasp from the professors around me. In this one moment, we learned that something new was happening in class.