(I posted this comment in the other thread as well)
I banned all cellphones and computer-based note taking in the classroom, with the exception that students could use a device if they wrote with a stylus.
I get the cell phones, for most classes you won’t need to have it out aside from taking an occasional photo of diagrams.
However, I’ve always thought that it was silly to have this stance on computers. Not everyone has access to an iPad or nice Wacom device, nor stylus compatible software that matches their workflow / note-taking style. I tried a lot of them and never found one I liked.
The article cites that same decade-old paper, which suggests that handwritten notes have better retention. If you actually look at the paper, here is the design of the commonly cited study:
Students generally participated 2 at a time, though some completed the study alone. The room was preset with either laptops or notebooks, according to condition. Lectures were projected onto a screen at the front of the room. Participants were instructed to use their normal classroom note-taking strategy, because experimenters were interested in how information was actually recorded in class lectures. The experimenter left the room while the lecture played.
Next, participants were taken to a lab; they completed two 5-min distractor tasks and engaged in a taxing working memory task (viz., a reading span task; […]). At this point, approxi- mately 30 min had elapsed since the end of the lecture. Finally, participants responded to both factual-recall questions (e.g., “Approximately how many years ago did the Indus civilization exist?”) and conceptual-application questions (e.g., “How do Japan and Sweden differ in their approaches to equality within their societies?”) about the lecture and completed demographic measures.
The advantage of typed notes is being able to reformat the notes over time and to go back and fill in details after class. If students don’t get the opportunity to do that, then yes it makes sense that the more cognitively demanding method of taking notes would give better recall.
This also depends a lot on the type of course being taught, which I didn’t see when I skimmed the NYT article:
I’ve taught the same course to a class of undergraduate, M.B.A., medical and nursing students every year for over a decade
What’s true is that laptops can be distracting to other students around you if you are doing something else (ex. watching sports / e-sports was common). If profs want to reduce that without policing what people are doing in class, having a “laptop section” in a back corner of the classroom works nicely
I exclusively wrote everything down with a pen, since I was not going to bring a laptop everywhere and somehow get it to stay powered for so many hours. Not to mention that it would have been terrible to draw schematics etc.
The best were those courses where you could prepare a “cheat sheet”, so then I go over everything and put key information and formulas into a word document. So I go over my notes, then have to filter them and then write the key things again. Maximum retention, as I can tell you 10 years later.
I don’t care. Mostly because we already have examples of what classes were like without them and the people who are reliant on them now will adapt and learn to cope if they’re taken away.
Additionally, people only think about what phones could be used for in class that they’d disapprove of, rather than things it might actually be useful for. I’ve personally had great success with recording lessons/lectures, and being able to refer back to them. This allowed me to ask more questions and take more time to understand the subject. Taking photos of diagrams? Awesome. Having a note document that I could reformat that was legible? Awesome.
I’m getting old, but when I retire, I’m going to go to as many free post secondary classes as I’m able, having never been to pist secondary, and never being a good student (I was mediocre at best and was smart enough to pass, without doing much of the work. I do not recommend or endorse being me as I was in school)
I really am curious what and how people use modern devices to great effect for studying/learning.
The world is so much different than in my youth it fascinates me what modern good study habits exist now. Like what’s the modern equivalent to flash cards? There has be something technologically amazing right? Even if it’s not well known to be widely adopted.
One thing that worked for me was recording the lesson so that I didn’t necessarily have to take notes right away and could absorb more information being told to me, have time to think about that information and ask questions in the moment. Then I could go home, re-listen to the lecture, write out some notes, and then fine tune those notes by reading the source material and other learning aids. This worked better for me especially having ADHD than trying to write notes and missing parts of the lecture as a result. Being able to take photos of the board was also useful, especially when diagrams and or visual information was being relayed.
I do think it’s important to experiment with what you have available and find strategies that work for you. Not everyone learns the same way.
I love gadgets. So it’s like what will people have come up with by the time I retire. And I have absolutely loved stationary. I don’t know why. It could easily be a problem.
My issue is that I type faster than I write. I think instead they should push for something like audio/memo recorders.
There’s a lot of comments about how digital devices are viable/helpful for note-taking and just as good as a pen. I think that’s missing the crucial point: virtually every device we own today is designed as a distraction machine.
A pen + paper isn’t going have any notifications or reminders or updates or emails or texts or ads or alarms or alerts. If there’s any device without those that’s as reliable and as cheap as a notebook, I’ve never heard of it.
Putting a device on airplane mode removes the distractions. If I play a video game while the lecture is going on, well that is on me, or the lecture, or both.
😂😂😂😂 I don’t think so . Just anxiety to have it back
deleted by creator
hey. it occurs to me too late that you might have taken exception to the tone of my previous remark. i had intended it to be genuinely helpful but im afraid it came out as world weary and, well, a little unpleasant. and i didn’t actually offer you any recovery resource. I just basically said “you got a problem lol gl” which is an enormous dickhead move in retrospect.
here. check out https://smartrecovery.org/
it’s a science-based alternative to the twelve step programs you might be hesitant to join due to their religious infuence. they have lots of in-person meetings and online too. i personally get more value out of in-person but everyone has their own preference and it’s nice to be able to make a meeting wherever I am.
the general philosophy can be summed up, “you have a choice.” it teaches that unpleasant emotions like anxiety are generally transient and offers strategies for coping with urges and building a balanced lifestyle. it offers a toolkit and an adaptable method.
it does focus generally speaking on substance addiction, but recognizes that addiction takes many forms. sex addiction, gambling, shopping, intimacy, trichotillomania, and yes, phone addiction. the most recent addiction to our meeting group is a young trans woman who struggles with self-harm urges. addiction is not something to be ashamed of, and it’s more common than you think.
please check it out. you don’t have to live in service to that anxiety.
