Taking Notes: An Essential Tool for Effective Learning

Taking notes is a surefire, practical way to acquire and retain information during the learning process. It’s also an incredible mental workout, which teaches us the valuable lessons of being smart and organized. Still, the issue is muddled by a dispute between propagators of traditional and digital note-taking. Much has changed in the information age, and both sides have put forward their arguments, so which medium is superior and brings better results?

Winds of change

Note-taking is a true life-saver for students and professors alike. It’s an indispensable tool, a way to become an active listener, a true scholar, and a real knowledge bank. That is why all learners strive to master the art of summing up the information they receive into easy to remember chunks of data. Now, beyond this undisputed land, lie a myriad of roads one can go down.

Namely, there’s a lively debate about digital vs. traditional note-taking. The former is conducted with the help of modern gadgets, while the latter utilizes the good old pen and paper. Although the digital revolution has made the old tools nearly obsolete, they’re making a comeback. A study published in the Psychological Science has revealed that traditional means of note-taking enhance memory and the ability to retain information.

Indeed, there are many tried and tested tools such as the Cornell Method, where you divide paper in two columns and designate the bottom of the page for the summary. Furthermore, handwriting advocates argue that this technique provides more flexibility and control. One can scribble, underline, doodle, make comments, etc. Word processing programs can be limiting in that regard.

A double-edged sword

This is not to say that laptops and smartphones should be reserved for communication and entertainment alone. The trend of bringing them is on the rise in many schools: Around 50% of students report using technology in class at least once a week. This is not surprising, as a modern strategy has some obvious advantages like eliminating the possibility of losing notes.

What is more, old-fashioned instruments are no match for digital tools in the area of sharing and browsing. This must not be overlooked because for most people, sharing and comparing notes constitutes a big part of the learning experience. The handiness of computers and mobile platforms is not in question, but the problem is when they are used as the only tools.

Yes, you can easily store and access the data, but on the flip side, you become dependent on external sources, neglecting the main storage: your brain. Research has shown that students who employ note-taking are able to memorize the same volume of information, but are far less successful when they’re tested.

The convergence

We have seen the rapid proliferation of note-taking gadgets, applications, and other novelties. There are also online student communities like Thinkswap that were built around the note-sharing idea. As a result of these developments, the realm of learning has been enriched and made future-proof. Some experts claim that the win-win scenario is to take regular notes and then turn them into digital format.

For example, with a smart pen and appropriate mobile device, you can reap the benefits of both the traditional and digital notes. This also makes digital conversion run like clockwork, as latest apps recognize the handwriting and transform it into typed text. As we can see, the lines between the two worlds are blurred, which means that there is no reason to abandon the either one of them. 

Weapon of choice

No matter how many bells and whistles you add to note-taking or what form it exists in, this activity is the backbone of successful learning. It all comes down to what works best for you: Keywords in notes should trigger the memory and allow you to grasp the bigger picture. So, feel free to combine the two methods and get the best of both worlds. Pay no heed to the ongoing war of the scribes and rest assured that under the right circumstances, all types of note-taking have a role to play.