Taking notes

The digital vs. paper debate is an interesting recent issue that addresses the relative benefits of each when it comes to academic reading and note-taking. There are real consequences of this research as educators with cursory exposure to the research are making decisions about whether to assign ebooks or allow students to use laptops/tablets in classrooms. Educational research is complicated in that getting from what might seem straightforward laboratory studies to the realities of the classroom can be misleading. Applied situations add variables that may not be considered in the basic research. For example, what is the experience with each method of providing the text when comparing learning from textbooks or e-readers. Or, how long after the presentation from which notes are taken does note review occur when comparing paper and laptop notetaking?

I recently encountered this Digitrends “feature” on notetaking on paper and on a laptop. My bias is to take notes on a device and I recommend that the notes be taken with software such as Soundnote which stores both notes and the audio from a lecture allowing the learner to easily refer back to the audio should the notes seem incomplete or confusing at a later date. At one level, using this study or that study to explain why a prof would not allow students to take notes in class seems inappropriate. If you are worried that students are doing something else rather than listen to you, just say so. One might suggest the use of a notebook if you think the research points in that direction, but using a selected study to deny choice is an overreach.

The Digitrends provides an impressive review of this research issue and identifies issues I was originally concerned about (how were the notes used as review). The review identifies the “external storage” function of notes rather than assuming notetaking is only about the “generative” effect of taking notes. However, as I mention above external storage a month after a lecture (the applied reality) is different from research studies in which you can review the notes you have taken before an assessment immediately after the presentation phase of a research student. The opportunity to record sketches is a legitimate issue for many (including me). I simply take a photo of the display with my phone so while sketching something out on paper might seem a significant issue for some, there are easy workarounds.

When researchers end their papers with “more research is required” this is not a cop-out. Applied topics are nuanced and simple solutions are unlikely. If you are interested in this issue, I strongly suggest you take a look at this nontechnical review.