Schools are challenged to adopt computer technology to improve the learning environment. There is increasing demand to ‘demonstrate’ how and where the technology is being used in the school. This can lead to the technology driving the curriculum. When considering how and where to use technology in the classroom consideration must be given to the purpose and process of notetaking and the mechanism by which this occurs.
A study by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) found there was direct electrophysiological evidence that larger networks in the brain are activated when drawing by hand then when typing on the keyboard. The research found that notes taken in longhand were more effective with respect to learning outcomes than verbatim keyboard note-taking.
There are two types of notetaking – generative or non-generative. Generative notetaking involves summarising, reframing, paraphrasing and non-generative involves verbatim transcribing. As some students can type faster than they can write there is a tendency to take down everything – Verbatim notetaking typically involves relatively shallow cognitive processing . Generative note-taking, on the other hand, leads to greater encoding and better performance on conceptual items.
A later study by cognitive neuropsychologists Audrey van der Meer and Ruud van der Weel from the Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) studied the differences between using a pen and a keyboard, to see how both tools impact learning . In their study, over 250 sensors were connected to students to monitor the difference in brain signals between using keyboard and pen to take notes. The results found that the when writing or drawing by hand different parts of the brain were active and in different ways. According to van der Meer, “This difference in activity is significant, it tells us that using a pen to take notes means that the brain is able to process learning in a much more effective way.”
The studies suggest that student’s ability to retain information is significantly increased through handwriting notes compared with typing them. The supports the benefits of using digital inking to take notes, annotate documents and visualise information in a meaningful way. Stylus technologies, not only provide students with an electronic record of their notes, the sensory-motor nature of writing and drawing may improve the learning process and retention of information.