Chromebooks in the classroom may be giving students too much screen time. Some teachers are returning to composition books for note-taking. Note-taking is an important process for studying. It helps students in exams and with assignments. Many question the importance of taking notes on tablets, computers, or handwriting notes in a composition book. Typing notes in the classroom is faster. However, research indicates that handwriting notes on paper engages the brain.
No Chromebooks
Taking notes with a pen (or pencil) on paper configures how students think, remember, and understand new content and ideas. Even though typing notes is faster, students do not retain much of the information. As a result, they must study more for tests and quizzes. Professor Richard Menary states, “writing transforms our cognitive abilities.”
Thanks to neuroscientists’ research, there is evidence linking handwriting to robust activation of brain areas. These areas involve visual, motor, and linguistic functions. Thus, handwriting plays a major role in learning that typing doesn’t.
Young students who practice writing letters demonstrate faster gains in decoding and spelling than students who type. The letters remain in their memory, so they recognize and understand them when they are seen again. The writing process forces different brain systems to work together.
Advantages and Disadvantages
- A Chromebook is expensive; composition books are cheap. However, a Chromebook or a computer can back up material. If a composition book is lost or destroyed, there is no recovery.
- Composition books are easy to carry, whereas computers are more cumbersome and require charging.
- It is easy to write in a composition book anywhere, increasing the likelihood of retaining the content.
- On a computer, there are more than likely distractions, such as emails and texts. Composition books do not have those disturbances. Thus, the thought process flows without losing focus.
Handwritten Notes
Teachers can review students’ composition books to see if they are keeping up with the material. They can check for misunderstandings and give help with organization skills if necessary. They can be used for a grade in various ways.
Note-taking allows for creativity. Students can add drawings, diagrams, and sketches to composition books. They can be used for journaling, creative writing, or doodling.
Students spend too much time looking at screens. Going back to writing in notebooks during school is one way to cut down on screen time.
