Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Using Laptop To Take Notes Lowers Grades

Posted by timothy on from the but-improves-slashdot-karma dept.

Meshach writes "A study in the journal Computers & Education found that students who took notes on a laptop got lower marks then student who took notes the traditional way with pen and paper. The study's author hypothesized that using a laptop leads to multitasking (i.e. surfing the net or checking email), which reduces concentration."

4 of 313 comments (clear)

  1. So basically surfing net while taking notes by cod3r_ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is the problem.. Common sense

  2. Hardly surprising.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I was schooled in the late 1970's/early 1980's - way before the advent of computers in the classroom. We were taught that writing things down (even copying from a book) helped the content to 'sink in' to your memory far better than just reading it and I believe this to be true - even now when I take my own notes I remember the content pretty well.

    Cut and paste or typing on a screen knowing you can save it to disc for easy recovery later does nothing for the memory - indeed the whole act is designed to save data to magnetic storage rather than brain cells!

    1. Re:Hardly surprising.... by 16Chapel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      YMMV - personally I learnt best by listening to the lecturer and digesting what they're saying (and, even better, asking the odd question). Writing things down doesn't help me remember, and never has - I actually find it distracting.

  3. Re:what about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What about flying elephants? What about cheese?
    Obviously, students that don't take notes wasn't part of this study.

    They should have been. When I was in college I rarely took notes, because taking notes is also distracting. It may well be that the act of taking notes itself decreases grades.

    As to flying elephants, I doubt any high level Republicans had computers when they were in school. Considering my own Congressman, Rodney Davis, a tea party wacko who believes that global warming ended fifteen years ago and has said so publically, well, he's pretty cheezy but I don't think he even graduated high school. The man is a real moron.