In college campuses across the country, students arrive to class lectures with their laptops, tablets, or phones and use these electronic devices to take notes. This is in contrast to the traditional method of note taking using plain pen and paper. What are the benefit or hindrances of electronic note taking? Does taking notes in class with a laptop help or hinder students?
Students Who Write Their Notes Longhand Perform Better Students Who Take Notes on Their Laptop
Scientists at Princeton University and UCLA studied whether students who write their notes (longhand) perform better in the class than students who type notes on electronic devices. They discovered that students who took notes on laptops performed worse on questions than students to who took notes longhand. Their study claimed that students who took notes with laptops had the tendency to transcribe lectures rather than processing the information into their own words, therefore became a hindrance to the student's learning. (Mueller; Psychological Science, 2014)
Mail Online Indicates Students Who Take Notes Longhand Learn More Than Students Who Type
According to Mail Online, a study reveals that students who take notes by hand learn better than students who type. Students who are writing notes involve senses which processes the brain. In a study conducted at Stavanger University in Norway, two groups of volunteers were asked to learn and unknown alphabet. The first group were told to write the letters by hand, while the second group used the keyboard. As a result, those who wrote the letters had the best results in learning. The researchers discovered that writing notes reinforces the parts of the brain which is associated with the learning process, while typing produces a different response in the brain but doesn't reinforce learning in the same way as writing. (Mangen; Velay;Mail Online, 2011)
Is Technology a Major Distraction in the Classroom?
In addition, technology such as laptops and other electronic devices are becoming a major distraction to instructors and to fellow students. According to a study done at the University of California-Irvine, note takers scored higher on exams than students who took notes using a laptop. Students who took notes on their laptops were more likely to be distracted not just by their own laptop, but by other's as well. In a class of law students that was surveyed, over 70% of the students used their laptop for non-school related activities during the lecture. Students taking notes on their laptops would spend "more than 50% of their time off tasked" than students who took notes by hand. Students would also be distracted and visit sites that did not relate to the lecture "seven times more than" than being on the "on task windows." (Aguilar-Roca; Computers & Education, May 2012).
Some other factors that researchers discovered that caused students to be distracted were "communication and entertainment." If a student felt the lecture was boring, they would often habituate and draw their attention to communicating to others. Students will often take to social media sites or text others for "non academic reasons." Entertainment is also a factor that hinders students digital self regulation. With easy access to the internet, students would be found "playing games, watching videos, listening to music and surfing the web during class." It can be attested that students are more distracted while using laptops to learn in class than they would be note taking. CJTL, Spring 2011)
Students Who Take Notes on Their Laptop State it's Quicker Than Writing Longhand
In contrast, students in universities find more benefits taking notes on their laptops during lectures than taking notes by hand. A study done by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology explain why students prefer to bring laptops with them to lecture and how it creates challenges in lectures. The research explains that students today are "digital natives" who uses technology on a "regular basis for educational task." In this generation of digital natives, technology is easily accessed to college students. Universities even let students rent laptops and tablets for free to use during the school year. Even in junior and senior high school, students are being exposed to the newest technology to use for educational purposes. Another claim that is made states how all colleges and universities "offer ubiquitous access to the Internet." All colleges and universities have access to open wireless internet throughout campus, making it more convenient for students to have access to their work, communicate with their professor or classmate, engage in online lectures, and have access to faster research tools. (Kay; CJTL, Spring 2011)
Research has proven that taking notes by hand helps students learn more in lectures than typing notes through laptops and tablets. Studies have shown that taking notes by hand in lectures helps stimulate the brain's sensory and motor areas, which helps in memory and learning. Other studies indicate that students agree on the benefit of using laptops in the classroom, however, students and professors agree that laptops can serve as a source of distraction to learning as well. The use of laptops and other electronic technology by students in the classroom is becoming the norm, and the benefits seem to outweigh the disadvantages. Move over paper pad! Make room for the Ipad!
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