There have been a couple classes I have attended where, upon entering the class and sitting down, I notice most people either pull out a notebook and a pen or pencil or a computer to jot down their notes. In high school, I had been a die hard notebook fan. I liked physical notes as they helped me to remember better and it’s what my debate coach always implored me to use for ease of organization. I had heard from many people that once I got to college, things would change. My paper would be replaced by technology and I would quickly abandon the “old fashioned” methods.
But I didn’t. I continued to use notebooks and found them quite helpful. Unexpectedly, though, I found the world evolving around the advantages promised by handwriting notes. Many people are contending with the notion of handwriting being an advantage through the usage of iPads and tablets. To be fair, I was given an iPad as part of my program and have used it quite often to take notes and write on posted slides for my classes.
Still, I don’t prefer the tablet. Whenever armed with my iPad, I end up paying far less attention than when I have a notebook. The ability to doodle and easily erase anything makes it so that my eyes are always glued to my iPad, hands always busy with something or another. However, with my notebook I find myself looking up and paying attention to my professors. On a notebook, I write with pen so I can’t erase things and have to pay more attention to make sure my notes are accurate.
At the same time, I have stacks and stacks of notebooks and handouts that have been meticulously written in and that I no longer need. My digital files on my iPad are easy enough to refer back to and don’t take up any room (other than a few megabytes of storage). Thus, this is less of a plea to say one is better than the other, but more of a glance at how there are some benefits to both styles and that there will always be a place for physical notes.
The ever-present balance between living in the physical and digital world is present each time I go into class and have the argument inside my head of whether I want to write my notes with pen and paper or on a screen. But at least for me, the computer will always be out of the question.
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