Digital Note-Taking: New style of keeping information and learning in the 21st century

For a moment the world announced the technological period, our daily life started becoming easier than before and many digital devices have been created unimaginably. Paper, which we recognise as the traditional note, has been replaced by digital devices. Mobile phone, Tablet, iPad, and especially computer, which is being used widely throughout the workplace and school. The argument between paper note-taking and digital note-taking started occurring and the researcher began researching them, as well. Which one of them is better? The statistic shows that in 2005, the percentage of students who used digital note-taking was only 37%; moreover, in 2018, this percentage increased vastly to around 70%. Based on these statistics, digital note-taking is better than paper note-taking, and to make this essay clearer, below are the points that support the topic.

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Digital note-taking is more convenient. Taking notes digitally can help us work faster and reduce our consumption of time. Most people complain that when they use paper note-taking, they tend to spend too much time than using digital because they have to do handwriting — writing each letter of a word even organising their notebook to look more eye-catching. Normally, around 13 words per minute that adults can write by using pen and paper but compared to typing with a digital device like a computer is between 60 to 70 words (Chatterton, 2020). This is because the cognitive function needed to take handwritten notes is very different from the cognitive function used with a keyboard function (Katayama et al., 2005). Besides, when we are taking notes with a digital device, we can change, edit, or remove our written records as quick as we can without messing them up. Consequently, we can set our hearts at rest on our notes that may become worst after editing. Likewise, when we note with the paper, we have to open each paper until we find what we want. This case will increase our consumption of time. However, on a digital device, we can enter our notes quicker than on paper. Moreover, we do not need to bring our notebooks everywhere and every time, which some of ours could be thick or huge, even concerned they might be damaged accidentally. For example, when we keep notes with Notion, Google Drive or One drive, with just an email address and password, we can access them without any difficulties. Taking note with digital devices help us coordinate our learning and allow us to enter note from everywhere and efficiently (Markowski, n. d.). With a smartphone in our pocket, we can enjoy reviewing as well as learning from the note no matter wherever or whenever we are.

Taking notes with a digital device provides us with more stylish and fascinating features. Thanks to technology and the creativity of developers that make our life inhabitable, especially students’ life. When it comes to digital note-taking, not only typing, but voice recording, drawing, highlighting, and inserting media are the functions that include in digital devices. All of those features can make our note sheet more attractive and help students with disabilities in learning as well. Digital note-taking, which gives us access to auditory recordings in addition to written notes, has shown hope in science classrooms with students with and without learning disabilities (Horney et al., 2009). Furthermore, we can enjoy handwriting with a digital pen on a digital device. By using the digital pen, we do not have to worry about changing its ink like a normal pen with ink and if we prefer writing for a longer period with a smooth experience without deadening and discouraging, it could be a better choice to choose the digital pen. Most students may experience tedious and frustration when recording notes by handwriting (Belson et al., 2013) while using the digital pen offers them the chance to capture better data from the class as well as help them to keep better notes (Horney et al., 2009). With digital, we can also share with our friends or colleagues. Digital provides us with a shared feature that allows others not just to view our notes but make them change, edit and add more information as well. This means that we are allowed to co-work on notes with our partners in real-time.

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The last point is that it encourages and motivates people to study happily. Since we live in the 21st century, technology becomes part of our lives. We tend to use more digital devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones even in academics like using PowerPoint for sliding, and Word for writing as well as doing assignments or classwork. Especially, we use the digital smartphone every time, so it is not surprising that digital can encourage us because people who take notes digitally can learn and remember information while they are taking notes, and they are better able to retrieve that information later (Anderson, 1986; Ward, 2003 & Kobayashi, 2006). As we have already mentioned in the essay, digital note-taking is easy to access from everywhere, so learning becomes easier for us — when the thing is easier, we are willing to get it without inner control. Since digital helps to encourage and motivate people, the University of Notre Dame, Pepperdine University and Stanford University have started programmatic endeavours designed specifically to promote digital devices like iPad used in classrooms (Diemer et al., 2012), for they believe that digital device will boost students’ motivation to learn more.

Those who believe paper note-taking is better than digital ones argue that digital note-taking has more negative impacts on losing focus and attention by the chance of distractions, the digital light can cause eye health and the radiation can affect the brain and memory system. Also, taking notes on paper has a higher rate of remembering information than digital, for when we do handwriting, we are inclined to think more deeply and clearly before passing the ink to the paper. However, this era, in which we live, in the 21st century — the period that advanced technology occurred. We use digital technology in every part of our life; therefore, we strongly accept that nobody wants to use the traditional style of keeping the information in the digital epoch. Notwithstanding, this does not mean that people who utilise digital note-taking throw the paper away into the corner of the wall. In fact, they are still using paper note-taking but since taking notes digitally is more convenient than writing with paper, and it helps cut down the consumption of time, they prefer recording notes digital alternatively. Pam Mueller (Staff & Doubek, 2016) from Princeton University, who researched digital note-taking, said that:

I think it is a hard sell to get people to go back to pen and paper, but they are developing lots of technologies now like Livescribe and various stylus and tablet technologies that are getting better and better. And I think that will be sort of an easier sell to college students and people of that generation (paras. 13).

In conclusion, there are many good and bad explanations for both digital note-taking and paper note-taking. It is very hard to distinguish which one is better because they have their own positive and negative. Also, these are people’s personal preferences. Some people might choose digital note-taking, for their handwriting is not good enough to read, and others may prefer paper note-taking because they can get more scenes to study. However, due to the advanced development of digital technology in the 21st century, we firmly believe that digital note-taking is a better choice to produce more productivity.

References:

1. Anderson, T. H., & Armbruster, B. B. (1986). The value of taking notes during lectures. Technical Report, 374, 1–48. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED277996
2. Belson, S. I., Hartmann, D., & Sherman, J. (2013). Digital Note Taking: The Use of Electronic Pens with Students with Specific Learning Disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 28(2), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F016264341302800202
3. Chatterton, R. (2020). Why Digital Note-Taking by Hand is Better than Using a Laptop. Retrieved from https://paperlike.com/blogs/paperlikers-insights/digital-note-taking
4. Diemer T. T., Fernandez E., & Streepey J. W. (2012). Student perceptions of classroom engagement and learning using iPads. Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology,1(2),13–25. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/jotlt/article/view/3084
5. Fox, J. (2005). A Survey of Electronic Note-Taking Behaviour in Information and Library Science Students. https://doi.org/10.17615/qjs8-nm24
6. Horney, M. A., Anderson-Inman, L., Terrazas-Arellanes, F. L., Schulte, W., Mundorf, J., Wiseman, S., et al. (2009). Exploring the effects of digital note-taking on student comprehension of science texts. Journal of Special Education Technology, 24(3), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F016264340902400305 Hussein, M., Lana, A.,
7. Reda, B., Bizuayehu-Mekonnen, M., Nassan, M., & Fazal, N. (2018). The prevalence of digital note-taking trends in professional pharmacy students. The Journal of Immunology, 200 (1), 113–114. Retrieved from https://www.jimmunol.org
8. Katayama A. D., Shambaugh R. N., & Doctor T. (2005). Promoting knowledge transfer with electronic note taking. Teaching of Psychology, 32(2), 129–131. https://doi.org/10.1207%2Fs15328023top3202_9
9. Kobayashi, K. (2006). Combined effects of note-taking/reviewing on learning and the enhancement through interventions: A meta-analytic review. Educational Psychology, 26(3), 459–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410500342070
10. Markowski, M. (n.d). 4 Tips for Effective Digital Note-Taking. Retrieved from https://www.herzing.edu/blog/4-tips-effective-digital-note-taking
11. Staff, N. P. R., & Doubek, J. (2016, April 17). Attention, students: Put your laptops away. NPR. Retrieved August 11, 2022, from https://n.pr/3vVjoEg
12. Ward, N., & Tatsukawa, H. (2003). A tool for taking class notes. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 59, 959–981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2003.07.003

Thanks to Mr Kry Kan and Seavsan Tho for checking this essay.