Once I was in faculty, 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 don’t seem to be 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 believe that largely is determined by choice. I sort sooner than I write, however I nonetheless desire to take notes on paper.
In response to researchers at Princeton College and the College of California, Los Angeles, college students who take handwritten notes typically outperform college students who typed them.
Writing notes assist college students study higher, retain data longer, and extra readily grasp new concepts, based on experiments by different researchers who additionally in contrast note-taking methods.
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 be aware takers sometimes forgot materials they’ve transcribed, a number of research mentioned. 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 might take a bit longer to seize the notes by hand, extra possible than not, you’ll retain the data longer in the event you put pen to paper.
As I educate English Composition on the College of Oklahoma, I might additionally prefer to say that whereas I discover this to be true for myself, each pupil has a unique studying type. Typed notes are significantly better than no notes in any respect. Some college students detest writing by hand and I perceive that. Every part in our world has gone digital from telephones to cable tv so it is smart, even when I don’t prefer it, that college students gravitate extra in direction of digital note-taking than pen and paper.
Whereas I wish to see extra college students take notes by hand, I actually gained’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 in the event you wrote them by hand? Would you keep the data longer? Maybe, and maybe not; once more, I believe this is determined by your particular person studying type.
I wish to counsel that in case you are one of many extra “electronically-minded” writers, use a flashcard app, or one other learning instrument that will help you overview your classroom notes or assembly notes to make them “stick” a bit higher. Whereas I discover any such analysis intriguing, in the event you get pleasure from taking your notes electronically, I wouldn’t change my technique primarily based on this.
If it’s working for you, preserve doing it. Don’t thoughts me, I’ll be over right here, writing the whole lot down with pen and paper.