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How I got a CS degree with pen and paper and why I'm doing it again

forrestbrazeal.com

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Re: How I got a CS degree with pen and paper and why I'm doing it again

#2
Interesting article. I can touch type but I prefer pen and paper for to do lists, mind maps, exploring problems and note taking. It's always seemed more "effective" than using a computer or my phone - even crossing off a task feels better.

I always assumed this was because I engage more areas of the brain. I'm excited to find the real reason so the research is now on my to-read list.

Re: How I got a CS degree with pen and paper and why I'm doing it again

#3
post #2

Interesting article. I can touch type but I prefer pen and paper for to do lists, mind maps, exploring problems and note taking. It's always seemed more "effective" than using a computer or my phone - even crossing off a task feels better. I always assumed this was because I engage more areas of the brain. I'm excited to find the real reason so the research is now on my to-read list.

Definitely agreed. There's something about physically engaging with the note-taking space that can't be replicated at a layer of abstraction, through peripheral devices.

Re: How I got a CS degree with pen and paper and why I'm doing it again

#5
I'd be interested also to know what people think about taking notes on a tablet with a stylus. I've never done this, and I think it could provide some of the benefits of taking notes on paper, but not all. For example, turning physical pages and visualizing data in concrete locations would still be more helpful for me, since I'm a spatial learner.

Re: How I got a CS degree with pen and paper and why I'm doing it again

#9
Disappointed. I thought the article was going to focus on why a computer isn't even necessary for a computer science degree. In other words - how a computer science degree is mostly just a degree in mathematics, and a lot of the coding that you do (algorithm work, obviously not a software engineering or programming intensive course) should be done with pencil.

I have been seeing a lot of articles claiming that a barrier to CS curriculum in high school is that they don't have the technological capabilities to support such curriculum. Nonsense. If I ran an AP computer science class we would never touch a computer. Pencil and paper only.

Re: How I got a CS degree with pen and paper and why I'm doing it again

#10

Disappointed. I thought the article was going to focus on why a computer isn't even necessary for a computer science degree. In other words - how a computer science degree is mostly just a degree in mathematics, and a lot of the coding that you do (algorithm work, obviously not a software engineering or programming intensive course) should be done with pencil. I have been seeing a lot of articles claiming that a barr…

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