Traditional Or Modern: Paper Notetaking Vs. Digital Notetaking
It’s no secret that technology has taken over almost every aspect of our lives. We communicate with each other online. We bank and shop online, and now many people choose to take their notes electronically with laptops, tablets, and new technologies like pen scanners. There are pros and cons to both paper and digital notetaking, and we’ll take a look at these to help you decide which is better for you.
Digital Notetaking: Best For Techies And Time Saving
There are many benefits of taking digital notes, especially if you are more tech-savvy. These include:
- The ability to type quickly and neatly, take notes in different colors and fonts, and save them electronically.
- When taking notes on a laptop or tablet, you can also quickly search for keywords or specific phrases, which can help review the material and save time.
New Digital Notetaking Technologies
Several new technologies help you take digital notes and laptops and tablets. Using pen scanners is great for transferring text from a book to a device for future notetaking.
Pen scanners like the Scanmarker Air – the scanmarker from the sky – can help students and professionals save valuable time scanning the text you read directly to your computer, phone, or tablet.
Digital Notetaking: The Common Complaints
Even for the digital diehards, there are some disadvantages to be wary of when taking digital notes. For example:
- The temptation to check your email and social media accounts or do other work instead of paying attention to the lecture.
- Long-term screen use may strain your eyes.
- Laptops and tablets are more expensive than a pen and paper and, depending on the model, and they can be heavy or difficult to carry around.
Paper Notetaking: Best For Budgeting And Learning
If you’re a visual learner, paper notetaking may benefit you more because:
- When you take notes by hand, you can easily draw diagrams and illustrations to help you remember the information. You can also write down important points and highlight them in different colors, making it easier to review the material later.
- Taking notes by hand forces you to slow down and read the material you’re taking notes on. This can be helpful, especially if you’re trying to learn new information.
- Paper notebooks and pens are cheaper and more portable than laptops or tablets, so you can easily carry them wherever you go, and they don’t need to be charged.
Paper Notetaking: The Messy Side
Paper notetaking does have some of the following pitfalls to be aware of:
- Paper notes can get bulky as time goes by, making them more difficult to carry around and organize.
- If you lose your notes and don’t have a photocopy or scan, this could be a potentially harmful situation for your learning or job.
- If you’re not careful, you can easily smudge or damage your notes.
- It’s also worth mentioning that nowadays, most people are much quicker at typing than writing by hand, so it can be more tiring to take notes by hand.
Get The Best Of Both Worlds
It’s possible to get the benefits of both paper and digital notetaking by combining both methods. You could write longer notes on a tablet or computer, so you don’t get tired and write shorter letters by hand for convenience. Ultimately, however, it comes down to personal preference. So, if you’re undecided about which method to use, try using both ways and see which one works better for you.