Handwriting vs. Typing: Which Is Better?
Chances are you've, at some point, been sitting in class, ready to take the best notes ever, when your teacher told you to put your device away and take out a pencil and paper. Instead of having a perfectly formatted Google Doc with pictures, links, and more, you're suddenly stuck with your mediocre handwriting and a highlighter or two. And while this may have seemed like the end of the world to your brain (and even more so your hand), there are plently of reasons why your teacher decided to go "old school." ⬇️
Typing
Efficiency
While this probably won't come as a shock, typing your notes, essays, and other documents is simply more efficient. You can complete work faster, have more space to write, and not worry about needing to spend time erasing if you make a mistake. Plus, everything is significantly more customizable, meaning that online learning (and specifically writing) can accommodate more students.
Accessibility & organization
Similarly, having your typed-up resources in a single, uniform place (like Google Drive) makes them easier to find. Throughout time, throwing papers into backpacks has proved to be a relatively not ideal method of storage when trying to find those papers later. Whereas, keeping papers online lets you search and find them in an instant–even without folders or labels.
Thinking
To put it simply, typing doesn't do a lot of engaging your brain. And that's because typing is passive–you don't need to think about every single word to write a sentence or paragraph. Instead, you're focused on the location of keys on a keyboard, not the formation of letters or usage of grammar.
What science says
Fun fact: your working memory (similar to short-term memory) can only remember 3 of 4 unrelated pieces of distinct information at a time. When you type, the information you're writing doesn't become one of those 3/4 pieces, and thus makes you more likely to forget it. Even more so, typing only engages shallow processing, where your brain focuses on encoding only the visual or auditory qualities of a word or concept (you hear your teacher and write the words he or she is saying, but it doesn't fully register in your brain to the deepest extent).
Handwriting
Awareness
When handwriting, you have to be cognizant of what you are putting on paper. This increases the electrical activity in your brain, and thus helps you remember it for something like taking a test or giving a speech. That's why, even if everyone in your class took the exact same notes, the kids who hand wrote them may obtain better scores on an assessment.
Fine motor skills
Putting pencil to paper also engages your brain in ways that typing doesn't. Like we said earlier, hitting keys on a keyboard isn't the most engaging activity. But, figuring out how to form letters, space words, and physically organize thoughts puts your brain into "focus mode." It activates and increases motor and visual skills, which generally makes your brain much healthier.
Efficiency
Of course, handwriting also has its flaws. The most obvious is how long it takes, which means you might not be able to put every piece of information in your notebook. In addition to this, storing paper notes is a much larger hassle, and you're more likely to lose the notes entirely than if they were online.
Penmanship
The biggest dilemma that handwriting poses is its long term usefulness, because as explained by a 2019 SWNS study, 45% of Americans struggle to read their own handwriting. Meaning, all the other reasons why handwriting helps your brain may be true, but the notes you take are nearly useless if you can't do anything with them later on.
So, whether you choose to type your notes and organize them into folders or have journal after journal in your backpack, it's good to know what you are and aren't getting out of each writing method. Truly, the choice is up to you, but no matter what you choose, if you liked this post, check out our others below or on the Blog page.
