Although iPads and rival tablets are taking over the electronics market, University professor Michael Winship prefers to teach naked.

Winship, a professor in the history department, advocates for the “teach naked” movement — a push for professors to banish distracting technology from classrooms and move lecture emphasis away from boring PowerPoint presentations and toward lively discussions.

In the syllabus for his American History to 1865 class, he forbids technology including laptops and cell phones, saying students with “electronically itchy fingers” should drop the class.

“One of the historical things we are doing is stepping back into the ancient past when the only way you could escape from your classroom environment was by taking active mental steps to leave: daydreaming, doodling, writing letters, etc.,” Winship wrote.

Despite these efforts, laptops displaying Facebook, Twitter, online games and email alongside class notes are a common sight in lecture halls.

Although some colleges such as Duke University’s Global Health Institute, which is providing iPads for students in field research, are moving toward an all-tablet campus, largely, universities have been skeptical about adopting iPads.

Although Apple moved to make the iPad 2 more mobile by increasing processor speed, adding cameras and making the device lighter, because of the lacking keyboard, students have mostly been left out.

Paul Windsor, a finance student and iPad user, said the keyboard makes typing “more of a hunt-and-peck kind of thing,” and that the technology distracts him during class.

“I take it to class with me, but the only thing it really does is keep me from paying attention,” said the senior from Birmingham, Ala. “I don’t use it for school at all.”

Grady Professor Barry Hollander said, because of the price and popularity of smart phones, the majority of students will not begin using iPads for a while.

“It’s too soon to say for an iPad if it’s a game-changer in the classroom,” he said. “It will be a while before students make use of tablets.”

Professors such as Hollander are already using iPads because of the ability to carry many books on the device.

Kiersten Sapp, a pre-med and Spanish major from Gainesville, said she thinks getting iPads for the University would make campus seem more high-tech and connected. However, with the recent budget cuts, she thinks the expense would be frivolous right now.

“Obviously, I’d be really happy if I got an iPad,” Sapp said. “It would make us seem more cutting-edge.”