When cursive writing is better than typing
Writing belongs to basic training. In school, one learns to write with pen and paper. In the course of life, technology then shifts into the digital realm. When it makes sense to write by hand and when digital writing is more sensible, a research team finds out.
Every child learns to write with pen and paper in school. Later in life, typing on keyboards and touchpads gains significance. In terms of volume, digital writing may have already surpassed handwriting for many people. However, this is not necessarily a problem for adults as long as they master both writing techniques. Both writing styles have advantages. For instance, typed texts can be easily edited and improved - particularly long essays benefit from this, improving their quality. Many people are also much faster on keyboards. Moreover, saving and managing is simple. Handwritten notes, on the other hand, seem to have an advantage when people take notes during a presentation or a meeting.
More Brain Connectivity with Handwriting
In January, Norwegian neuroscientists Audrey van der Meer and Ruud van der Weel presented evidence that writing by hand promotes learning in certain situations. They had 36 students write specific words either with a pen in cursive script or with a finger on a keyboard.
During the experiment, the researchers measured the electrical activity in the brains of the participants using electroencephalography (EEG), as reported in the journal "Frontiers in Psychology" by the research duo from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. They found that the precise, controlled hand movements during pen use triggered significantly stronger connections between certain brain regions.
Previous studies have shown that the observed connectivity patterns - experts refer to them as connectivity - are "crucial for memory formation and information processing, and therefore beneficial for learning," write van der Meer and van der Weel.
"We have shown that the differences in brain activity are related to the careful formation of letters when writing by hand, with the senses being more strongly engaged," said van der Meer in a statement. She summarizes: "There are some indications that students learn more and remember better when they make handwritten notes for lectures, while using a computer with a keyboard might be more practical when they write a long text or essay."
The Disadvantages of Mindless Copying
While van der Meer and van der Weel focused on changes in the brain, a US research team showed 10 years ago that handwritten notes also have real learning advantages, but for different reasons.
In three experiments, the researchers had students watch five-minute videos and take notes either on a laptop or by hand. About half an hour later, they were asked to answer questions about the short film.
Particularly in the case of comprehension questions - for example: "How do Japan and Sweden differ in their approaches to equality within their societies?" - students with handwritten notes performed significantly better.
The group around Daniel Oppenheimer, now active at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, sees the reason in the fact that people who engage in tipping at computers tended to write literally. This would hinder learning processes, as information would be processed and grasped less in one's own words compared to just jotting down key points.
However, making more rather than fewer notes in general is beneficial, the group states. "But if the notes are made randomly or through thoughtless copying of contents, which is more likely on a laptop than with handwritten notes, the benefit is lost."
Chatting instead of calling
The writing process is a very complex procedure, explains Necle Bulut, a speech didactician at the University of Münster who researches hand and keyboard writing. "It consists of partly automatable and non-automatable processes." The act of writing itself, spelling, and sometimes even formulating are automatable. The better this works, the more capacity the working memory has for planning and revising a text, be it handwriting or keyboarding.
Bulut assumes that people make decisions based on writing style for the most efficient way. "If handwriting leads to better learning results, then people will fall back on it." If the writing tool is insignificant for the individual, "then different ways lead to the same goal."
It is unclear to German experts whether handwriting has generally decreased among adults over the past decades. However, it is possible that more is written overall, as many young people and adults write enormous amounts of text messages in Messenger apps on their smartphones. "Chats have largely replaced telephone calls," says Nadine Anskeit, who leads the Institute for German Language and Literature at the Karlsruhe University of Education.
When AI takes over writing
Thanks to technological progress, manual writing by hand or keyboard can be avoided in many cases. Every smartphone and Messenger app now has a dictation option, allowing you to make notes and messages easily by speaking.
AI-supported apps and programs transcribe audio recordings very reliably. Such software can also take into account when the speaker or speakers change. Applications even go a step further by summarizing the spoken content at the user's request. At least technically, handwritten notes become largely unnecessary for a business meeting, a video call, or a university lecture.
These AI-generated summaries could help if one wants to fully concentrate on listening in a conversation or a lecture, says expert Anskeit. However, it is important to critically evaluate such offers. These AI helpers could lead to daydreaming. Making one's own notes, on the other hand, forces concentration. In general, "learning cannot be replaced by AI."
Regarding data protection issues, one should be aware of the risks. For an audio file to be converted to text, the data often have to be stored and evaluated by the provider, explains Anskeit. In addition, consent from those recorded is necessary for audio recordings. "People should critically reflect on these programs," says the expert.
Anskeit does not believe that handwritten notes will become obsolete due to the multitude of digital possibilities. "They don't die out so quickly."
The research by Norwegian neuroscientists Audrey van der Meer and Ruud van der Weel suggested that handwriting promotes learning in certain situations by triggering stronger connections between specific brain regions. This is because the precise, controlled hand movements during pen use stimulate these connections, which are crucial for memory formation and information processing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly capable of transcribing audio recordings and summarizing spoken content, potentially making handwritten notes obsolete for tasks such as business meetings or university lectures. However, expert Nadine Ansheit asserts that learning cannot be completely replaced by AI and handwritten notes are unlikely to become obsolete due to the wide range of digital alternatives.
