Electronic messages clearly are
taking over business and personal communications. Many of us get hundreds of emails and texts
every day. Yet when is the last time you
recall receiving a handwritten pen and paper were more likely to reframe
ideas in their own words, engaging the brain in a more optimal way. In
contrast, those using a keyboard tended simply to record, the notes on a
laptop.
Before
we abandon paper and pen forever, however, we should know research increasingly
shows that handwriting offers many cognitive and social benefits.
When
we write by hand instead of using digital tools, it can improve our ability to
process information. Two researchers,
Pam Mueller of Princeton university and Daniel Oppenheimer, a professor at the
University of California, Los Angeles, asked more than 300 students to use
their preferred method of note taking during lectures. When
tested on the material the students who handwrote their notes retained
significantly more ideas than those who typed notes on a laptop.
Why?
The findings suggest that those using pen and paper were more likely to reframe
ideas in their own words, engaging the brain in an optimal way. In contrast
those using a keyboard tended simply to record information, sometimes creating
a virtual transcript.
It
appears the art of precision in handwriting also produces positive brain
effects. In one Indiana University study,
psychologist Karin James conducted brain scans on preliterate children
before and after they received lessons about letters. The result: Neural activity for
children who printed letters by hand was far more enhanced than it was for
those who typed or traced them.
Another
study demonstrated a connection between longhand and more fluent and sophisticated
writing. Research led by by Virginia Berninger, a professor at the University
of Washington, found that elementary school students who created essays by
hand---versus using a keyboard---wrote more and wrote faster. They expressed more ideas as well.
The impact of
handwriting on brain activity is so pronounced, some medical researchers
believe it could be a good exercise for keeping minds sharp as people age.
What
do you think; do you agree?
This information is taken from
an ad for Pilot Pen.
***
New Words/Phrases:
1. Preferred method---usual
way or method;
2. Cognitive---related to the
process of knowing or understanding rationally;
3. Note taking---recording information;
4. Reframe---reorganize;
5. Optimal Way---best way;
6. Neural activity---brain
wave activity or electrical impulses of the brain;
7. Versus---compared to;
8. Pronounced---clear
9. Sophisticated --- developed
to a high degree of complexity
10. Preliterate --- of,
relating to, or denoting a society or culture that has not developed the use of
writing
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