Handwritten vs. electronic notes: which form is more effective?
PHOTO: In the realm of note-taking, the newest technology may not be the better option.
By Miranda Griffiths,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
As technology begins to change in the school setting, so does the way we write notes. Nevertheless, handwriting notes will always be a go-to for most students. Even if technology exceeds the handwritten sentiment, it will never surpass the actual learning completed when handwriting notes.
A study done by Pam. A. Muller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of UCLA shows that while typing is in fact faster than handwriting notes, when forced to write them by hand, one becomes more selective and develops a better understanding of the subject.
“Taking notes by hand helps me a lot more than taking notes on a computer because then I’m really forced to think about what I’m writing and it helps to really get all the key points,” junior Anna Lovely said.
When taking notes on a computer, students try to record every lecture word for word rather than processing the information and thinking about how it connects to the real world.
One noticeable pattern with the different techniques of note-taking is the level of schooling the student is at. In most cases, high school students don’t type out their notes on their laptops. They usually write their notes on paper. In contrast, many college students use laptops to take down notes because it’s much more efficient.
In college, students are free to take any type of notes they want to. However, high school students are encouraged to take specific kinds of notes, whether this be Two-Column Notes or Cornell Notes. Because of this, students, even if they have a computer, take notes by hand to fulfill a requirement.
If you are skilled and can type fast without making many errors, typing notes is probably best. However, if that’s not the case, then handwriting notes is probably better. As Davis High librarian Bruce Cummings puts it, “I’m not the best typist and so I spend more time than I would like hitting the backspace key.”
Another problem that may occur is that a computer is more likely to malfunction. If it were to run out of battery or update, it would leave the user without a way to take notes.
“Obviously, sometimes technology fails. Pen and paper don’t require power and are fairly durable,” Cummings said.
Given research-based reasoning, I believe that handwriting notes is the best option for the average student. In a high school setting, recording lectures isn’t very common or practical. By writing down notes, you can think about what you are writing and it’s easier to connect to the material being taught.
