After I was in school, in 2002, laptops weren’t actually commonplace but. Most college students took notes by writing with pen and paper. Right this moment, most college students take notes with laptops, tablets, cell telephones, or different digital gadgets. The times of pen and paper appear to be fading. Some college students even wait till the tip of sophistication and use their cell telephones to take an image of the whiteboard, so in impact, they aren’t absorbing any of the data as a result of they “can simply take an image of it and take a look at it later.”
Is it simpler to take notes on an digital machine? I feel that largely will depend on desire. I sort sooner than I write, however I nonetheless choose to take notes on paper.
In accordance with researchers at Princeton College and the College of California, Los Angeles, college students who take handwritten notes usually outperform college students who typed them.
Writing notes assist college students be taught higher, retain data longer, and extra readily grasp new concepts, in accordance with experiments by different researchers who additionally in contrast note-taking strategies.
Whereas most college students can sort sooner than they write, this benefit is short-term. Because the WSJ factors out, “after simply 24 hours, the pc notice takers sometimes forgot materials they’ve transcribed, a number of research stated. Nor have been their copious notes a lot assist in refreshing their reminiscence as a result of they have been so superficial.” So whereas it could take a bit longer to seize the notes by hand, extra possible than not, you’ll retain the data longer for those who put pen to paper.
As I train English Composition on the College of Oklahoma, I’d additionally prefer to say that whereas I discover this to be true for myself, each pupil has a distinct studying model. Typed notes are a lot better than no notes in any respect. Some college students detest writing by hand and I perceive that. The whole lot in our world has gone digital from telephones to cable tv so it is sensible, even when I don’t prefer it, that college students gravitate extra in the direction of digital notice taking than pen and paper.
Whereas I want to see extra college students take notes by hand, I actually received’t require it. Some college students are navigating studying disabilities, anxieties, and different impediments that make taking notes digitally extra advantageous.
I think about the identical is true for different areas as nicely: as a substitute of typing assembly notes, what would occur for those who wrote them by hand? Would you keep the data longer? Maybe, and maybe not; once more, I feel this will depend on your particular person studying model.
I want to recommend that in case you are one of many extra “electronically-minded” writers, use a flashcard app, or different finding out instrument that can assist you evaluate your classroom notes or assembly notes to make them “stick” a bit higher. Whereas I discover this kind of analysis intriguing, for those who get pleasure from taking your notes electronically, I wouldn’t change my methodology primarily based on this.
If it’s working for you, preserve doing it. Don’t thoughts me, I’ll be over right here, writing all the pieces down with pen and paper.