Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Handy Writing

Some researchers have found that learning to write by hand -- instead of just how to type on a keyboard -- may help us learn things faster and better.

In fact, even that old dinosaur cursive handwriting may play a role in helping the human brain develop information-processing skills. Nice to know someone took a look at this before we junked the idea of handwriting education completely, but pen and paper are mighty dull competition compared to the gee-whiz factor of giving every kid in school an iPad.

Of course, they're cheaper and easier to replace, too. But a lot of school administrators don't want their field to start looking at things that way, lest they themselves be out of a job.

2 comments:

fillyjonk said...

That finding seems utterly unsurprising to me. I STILL take notes, even if I might not need them later, as a way of forcing myself to pay attention to something.

And I take notes with a pen or pencil and paper, not by typing on a smartphone or something else.

I know I'm a dinosaur but I can't help but think that for many people, writing it down helps remember. Something about "muscle memory."

Friar said...

I have in fact taken notes at events which required my presence even though I had no interest in them, just to keep the boredom below lethal.