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A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

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Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#181

Post by iliketosleep »

veddox wrote: post #165
iliketosleep wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sounds like the actual learning secret is "don't take verbatim notes", and the only relevance of the laptop is that it makes it much easier to take verbatim notes. Yes, that's pretty much what it explains. The title "don't take notes with a laptop" is rather misleading. It's a well known fact that summarizing requires the learner's brain to actively process the information, as opposed to passively receiving informa…

No. Learning is very much a multi-sensory process. The act of writing is part of the learning - the two-dimensional shapes your fingers trace actually help cement the memory in your brain. (And no, simply clacking away on the keyboard is not the same.) As these authors [1] say: "the additional context provided by the complex task of writing results in better memory." [1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1…

The study you've referenced is invalid for this particular discussion (but it's an interesting read and thank you for posting it). The study is focused on memorizing words, with this limitation being clearly stated in the study: "Future research is necessary to investigate the effect typing has on remember more complex stimuli, for example, phrases rather than just words."

It's also notable that the participants are 72% percent female (females as a population are better at writing than males [1]), and that 72% of participants admit that they prefer pen and paper.

Having said that, I agree with the study in that the kinesthetic aspect of writing will generally lead to better retention of words - I believe this is well established.

[1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180920102135.h...

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#182

Post by windexh8er »

3jckd wrote: post #149
windexh8er wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you feel that had you taken notes on an eReader / iPad with a pen input you would have similar effectiveness? I used to take notes for work in a small pad and found I didn't reference them often. I've recently tried moving to digital notes and there seems to be little friction to the switch with the exception of additional distraction (ie all those other apps).

Not OP, but I ditched taking notes on paper for the most part. I write stuff down on the iPad Pro (Notes and/or Notability) instead nowadays. It is easier to find and extract things and I can just archive them to the cloud when they are not needed anymore. The only time I use paper is when I don't have the iPad on me and for personal journaling (for which I have a dedicated notebook anyway).

Same here. I've found the new iPad Pro + paper like screen protector to be a very near real experience with very little noticeable input lag for notes. Now, it is a very pricey alternative but agreed on all points.

I did consider the Boyue Likebook Muses [0], but figured for longevity the iPad may be the better buy. I did try the reMarkable and was very disappointed in it's price to performance/usability, at least for me. Little things like no backlight at that price point was hard to get over.

[0] https://goodereader.com/blog/product/boyue-likebook-muses-st...

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#183

Post by zZorgz »

I probably think this is true for school, that using laptops is not as productive for taking notes, but I didn't find writing down notes on paper in classes particularly pleasant either.

Past my school life into employment life, the situation is much different. I take digital notes on many tasks, I search through them like in a database when I need to recall something. I don't get distracted for note taking in environments that sitting through long lectures encourage. I still take notes on paper sometimes, but write a lot less down.

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#184

Post by mud_dauber »

Aromasin wrote: post #138
seventhtiger wrote: post #116

I tended to be in the top of the classes I was in and as far as I've seen my method was somewhat different. I also only take notes on paper, but more importantly, I throw all my notes out as soon as I finish writing them. For me studying is the act of writing the notes. The purpose of notes was never to read them later. That's why writing on paper is important to me. It's not about the qualities and convenience of th…

I do something similar. My method is always to try and fit everything I need for an exam on a single A5 sheet of paper, as if I could take it into the exam with me. The first 5 or so drafts I'd never be able to fit enough on, so with each iteration I make the writing smaller, or work out a pictorial code, or condense my explanation of a method to squeeze on as much as I could. By the time I've finally managed to fit…

This was my study mode throughout HS & (somewhat) through college. It really does work, even though I had no idea why I started that way. And my final editions were just as indecipherable to the outside world.

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#185

Post by base698 »

seventhtiger wrote: post #116

I tended to be in the top of the classes I was in and as far as I've seen my method was somewhat different. I also only take notes on paper, but more importantly, I throw all my notes out as soon as I finish writing them. For me studying is the act of writing the notes. The purpose of notes was never to read them later. That's why writing on paper is important to me. It's not about the qualities and convenience of th…

I'm the same way and definitely always did paper notes.

My completely unresearched theory as to why it's better: since your hands map to so much of your brain and it's function. I think the texture of the paper and the dexterity required to write stimulates your brain more allowing for deeper memories.

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#186

Post by yoz-y »

seventhtiger wrote: post #116

I tended to be in the top of the classes I was in and as far as I've seen my method was somewhat different. I also only take notes on paper, but more importantly, I throw all my notes out as soon as I finish writing them. For me studying is the act of writing the notes. The purpose of notes was never to read them later. That's why writing on paper is important to me. It's not about the qualities and convenience of th…

I did that but not deliberately. I just almost never looked at the notes.

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#187

Post by crazygringo »

Or better: take classes where they e-mail you the slides afterward. Taking notes is archaic.

Just my personal experience, but taking notes was always horrible for me -- as my brain was busy trying to think "how do I write this down in a way that will make sense" as the article suggests, I was missing the next few sentences from the lecturer and getting progressively more lost.

And when the lecturer is making a point, it's not always clear until later whether it was an irrelevant tangent or a main element that will be on the test later.

Taking notes in class distracts from effort that could be better spent learning and comprehending.

On the other hand, taking slides from classes and transforming them into your personal notes and study guide at your own pace -- that's immensely valuable.

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#189

Post by bradstewart »

scottmsul wrote: post #180

I was physics/CS undergrad and did very well academically. I didn't really take notes much though. The strategy that worked for me was to read the book ahead of time, then the lectures were more to help digest material I was already familiar with. And for those giant auditorium-sized lecture classes, I just skipped class completely and only read the book. In fact I found taking notes to be distracting - how can I pay…

"Copying everything down" is not what I would consider taking notes. I write down those little "aha" moments, or interesting tricks, new ways of framing the problem, etc. Reading the book ahead of time is awesome, but sometimes a presenter explains something in a slightly different way that makes it click. That's what (my) notes are for.

Re: A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop (2014)

#190

Post by alexgmcm »

scottmsul wrote: post #180

I was physics/CS undergrad and did very well academically. I didn't really take notes much though. The strategy that worked for me was to read the book ahead of time, then the lectures were more to help digest material I was already familiar with. And for those giant auditorium-sized lecture classes, I just skipped class completely and only read the book. In fact I found taking notes to be distracting - how can I pay…

I was pure Physics and did the same.

I'd summarise the relevant sections for the exams in LaTeX documents as well. The pain of having to put it into LaTeX made me absorb it better I think...

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