Laptop vs Paper

RunBabyRN · Jun 5, 2014

Interesting article! I switched to my laptop because going is easier on my carpal tunnel than hand writing is, but I still write my own notecards based on my notes, and this I do by hand. There's a kinetic thing, I think, when you write something that you miss with a laptop. That said, I do love my laptop! :)

MilliePieRN · Jun 5, 2014

I used my laptop for the entirety of nursing school and made all (except 1) A's. I think it helped me stay organized and made it so much easier to study. I used keywords to search multiple sources of notes at once and find my answers super quickly. I could not imagine writing everything and actually have that amount of notes be useful long term. Maybe one single lecture you may benefit from writing more, but for the entirety of nursing school (since it is cumulative), my laptop was the best way for me to take notes. I don't believe that laptops are the biggest problem for the students in the link, they just don't pay attention and are doing other things. I didn't do that and most nursing students wouldn't.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jun 5, 2014

Very interesting article. Thanks for sharing it. My handwriting is dreadful... Back in the dark ages when I was 13, my teachers suggested (to my parents) that I type my assignments. They quickly enrolled me in typing class & I never looked back. As soon as they were available/affordable & I could convince instructors to let me use this (very distracting) technology I began lugging a laptop to class.

Actually, the underlying issue is not what type of tool you use (pencil or keyboard) to take notes... it is 'cognitive load'. Each of us has a finite mental capacity which dictates how much 'stuff' we can focus on at the same time. The actual capacity varies - but this has nothing to do with overall intelligence. Some very smart folks need to focus on one thing at a time in order to retain (learn) the material. Others can handle 5 or 6 things at once without skipping a beat.

So - if your keyboarding skills are top-notch... it's just as easy as handwriting... the tool itself does not really make a difference. But if it is harder for you to type than use a pencil, that adds more 'cognitive load' and may really interfere with your ability to process/retain the information. If you are tying to surf the net & update Facebook at the same time... well, the result is obvious, right?

Educators who are well-versed in the neuro-biology of learning actually try to eliminate the need for students to take notes. Instead, we provide a lot of support materials (notes, slides, references) and use class time for mental exploration and discussion of the material. This is called 'flipping the classroom'. We have a ton of evidence that this produces much better results, but it also requires better preparation... in terms of educator competence as well as student engagement.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2014

Good day, PaulBaxter:

My compromise is to use an iPad and the app, GoodNotes where I can take handwritten notes using a stylus. GoodNotes allows me to annotate PDF files and PowerPoints as well as bring in images from the web and other sources. For me, this is a very portable hybrid between pen and paper and a laptop.

Thank you.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 5, 2014

I think it also comes down to what you're comfortable doing. I can type very fast and could probably just take my laptop, instead of using my notebook. However, I guess I'm just "old school". I don't feel like I retain info unless I write it by hand. I'm in my 40s, so taking notes by hand just "feels" like learning to me. When I first went back to school, I tried the laptop but the info just didn't "click" like it does with note-taking by hand.

To each his/her own, eh?

Episteme · Jun 5, 2014

Educators who are well-versed in the neuro-biology of learning actually try to eliminate the need for students to take notes. Instead, we provide a lot of support materials (notes, slides, references) and use class time for mental exploration and discussion of the material. This is called 'flipping the classroom'. We have a ton of evidence that this produces much better results, but it also requires better preparation... in terms of educator competence as well as student engagement.

I think the jury is out on whether or not this is going to work. I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of the research was done on children at the secondary education level. Please let me know if we have any randomized studies that show this process works in nursing education... I'd genuinely like to learn more about it. The acid test, of course, will be when we flip the nursing classrooms throughout the curriculum (labs and clinicals excluded) and see which group passes boards and which does not.

I will be honest with you. Even students who handed in a well done "ticket to class" were not prepared for the non-directed, case-study, or group project type class. On course evaluations the students absolutely panned it. ("I'm not paying $50,000 to teach myself this stuff!!!" That sort of response.)

I've also seen some of the "self-directed" (students-teach-each-other) approaches misused. Assign enough points to the group project, pass everyone and bingo. Great evaluations. (Not that faculty want to be lazy because it's a lot of work. But so they could be liked, for inflating grades.)

Nursing school is ridiculously content heavy. We'll see if this trend continues into the future and if it turns out better prepared nurses.

(BTW: I recorded my lectures. Then went home and synthesized them into written notes. Then typed those notes out. This was when they'd just come out with small tape recorders, but xerox machines were very rare. So, no handouts. And powerpoints? No one could have imagined a computer in a classroom. We thought you needed an entire floor in a computing center for one of those. You had one chance at the lecture... it was auditory... and that was it.)

SeattleJess · Jun 5, 2014

Good day, PaulBaxter:
My compromise is to use an iPad and the app, GoodNotes where I can take handwritten notes using a stylus. GoodNotes allows me to annotate PDF files and PowerPoints as well as bring in images from the web and other sources. For me, this is a very portable hybrid between pen and paper and a laptop.
Thank you.

I guess there's nothing like this for an Android tablet? Sigh.

notnursezelda · Jun 6, 2014

I guess there's nothing like this for an Android tablet? Sigh.

yes there is, i just don't remember the name. i had a similar app on my asus tablet.

it would allow me to record and type and/or "hand write" my notes.

i never used it for school per say, but it was pretty cool and the name totally escapes me atm

smf0903 · Jun 6, 2014

I think it also comes down to what you're comfortable doing. I can type very fast and could probably just take my laptop, instead of using my notebook. However, I guess I'm just "old school". I don't feel like I retain info unless I write it by hand. I'm in my 40s, so taking notes by hand just "feels" like learning to me. When I first went back to school, I tried the laptop but the info just didn't "click" like it does with note-taking by hand.
To each his/her own, eh?

I could have written this post! I swear I do not remember a word of what I type, but if I write it out I'm good! I've tried typing my notes instead of writing, but it just doesn't work for me...give me a stack of paper, a pen, and some highlighters, and I'm golden LOL

LifesAJourney · Jun 6, 2014

My program had a lot of PowerPoint ppl can print off. I usually just jote down little notes not mention in powerpoint. I barely used my laptop in school for note taking.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2014

I'm old school, and I am a great note taker. Still prefer the notebook and pen, at least I dont have to worry about it ever getting erased. I use computers for assignments and papers, but never for classroom notetaking. Did just fine with this method in nursing school only a couple of years ago.