Teacher. Math/Sci/Pol nerd. Recovering IT worker. Former owner of clothing not covered in cat hair.

Also @keet

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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 14th, 2023

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  • I used to be quite skeptical about this in the same way as the OP here. However, after teaching for a number of years I have seen anecdotal evidence that handwriting notes does help with retention of information. Taking notes by hand forces you to process the information in ways that typing (or, let’s be honest…taking pictures or recordings) cannot. Basically, aside from the fine motor skills involved, the slower process of note-taking by hand forces you to actually think more about what you write, as you have to summarize more due to the physical process being less efficient. Too many students nowadays make the mistake that simply being familiar with, having digital access to, or simply recognizing a particular bit of information is the same thing as actually knowing or mastering the info. (Yes, I know…old man shakes fist at passing cloud…)

    I will second the bit about fountain pens helping with hand cramps/writing fatigue and being less wasteful than other writing methods. Same with the advent of e-ink screens helping with the often cited example of digitized info contributing to eye strain.