Gather around, youngsters, and let’s talk about a day not so long ago when telephones were stuck to walls or sat on desks tethered to a long cord. You couldn’t stick them in your pocket or backpack.

My first-year seminar (Handelsman, 2020) is designed to help students transition to college. What should my policy be toward late assignments? At one extreme is a “zero-tolerance” policy: Students get ...