Keyboarding vs Handwriting, and how they affect our thinking
Clive Thompson over at Collision Detection cites a New York Times article about a study of handwriting vs keyboading by students.
Computers have drastically reduced the amount a student writes by hand, so much that the skill, “like an unused muscle”, is pretty much dead by your senior year. But there’s an interesting question buried in this piece: What is the cognitive effect of handwriting versus typing? (referring to a NYT article)
Then he goes on to ask:
“For me, there’s an even deeper question: Are there any qualitative differences — in the way you think, create, or express yourself — between handwriting and typing?”
Posted: February 19th, 2005 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 1
Comments
Comment from Rebecca Sensei
Time: August 2, 2005, 9:40 pm
I have always expressed myself better through a keyboard than through handwriting, mostly because my handwriting is dreadful. Many years of teaching haven’t improved it; chalkboard and dry-erase writing don’t do anything to help refine one’s handwriting position.
I tend to think much faster than my hand can write. I did take a typing class in high school and have had plenty of practice, so I can usually keep up with my thoughts when I use a keyboard for input.
My musical handwriting isn’t any better; the greatest boon to my productivity as a musician was when I first discovered notation entry programs that could use either a typing keyboard or (more recently) an electronic keyboard through a MIDI connection.
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