I record lectures because I'm one of those unfortunate people that cannot remember anything I hear - just what I read. So, if I don't understand something in my notes, I can always refer back to the lecture and clarify my notes (so I remember the material). It's also helpful if you know you are going to miss a class - there's always a friend who will give you notes and a recording, so you can catch up easily. When I had a bout with bronchitis/pneumonia, it was very helpful to have that technology. I'm a 'mature' (very mature, LOL) student and I remember university in the days before smartphones or the internet. Let's just say, I wouldn't have had so many issues my first try at university if I would've had the same technologies as now.
Another thing us students use phones for is taking pictures of some of the overhead things the teachers use...one of my recent classes we had a real-time simulation and the results were posted on overhead every half hour...everyone was snapping pictures of the standings because the prof wasn't going to post it on our online blackboard site. We used those pictures of the standings in our reports. Sometimes we take pictures of complex drawings the prof makes on the board instead of trying to copy it ourselves into our notes. This means we can take the time to concentrate on the prof's explanations instead of wasting time trying to reproduce the drawing/graph. So many times in the past I would miss what the prof was saying because I was trying to 'catch up' while taking notes or drawing...not any more.
I've been lucky - I'm in a business program that encourages technology use (We are required to have laptops in class). Yes, there is the occasional phone ring - but it doesn't happen very often and everyone ignores it and moves on. I still haven't mastered the art of taking notes on the computer though...I still like pen and paper for that.
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