This is really dependent on several variables: 1) the class being taught, 2) typing competence of the student, 3) comfort level with the material, and 4) the level of the student. Undergraduates may find that most of their material can be typed for memorization.  However, graduate students may find original material and theory less easily digested from outside sources other than material from the teaching professor. I found that in statistics or economics classes, I had to write down the information despite being competent using symbols and other special characters in MS Word.  Later, I was able to translate this information to personal notes after verifying that I did not miss symbols or other important items like brackets that would indicate order of operation.  This was helpful because it forced me to review my notes!  In business classes or required items such as English, direct typing was much more viable. This would also apply to undergrad classes in which professors simply write notes on the board during lectures.

it is interesting question ... , for me, our colleague, George Stoica has written the exact answer. Have a nice weekend!

While our digital natives would find taking notes by hand archaic, they would be able to retain more from this old-fashion way as it requires some synthesis of what is being said that aids in understanding the material better.

Many thanks,

Debra

Writing notes by hand is much better for long-term memory of ideas or for remembering conceptual information over the long term.

“Our new findings suggest that even when laptops are used as intended — and not for buying things on Amazon during class — they may still be harming academic performance,” says psychological scientist Pam Mueller of Princeton University, lead author of the study. The researchers also found that longhand note takers still beat laptop note takers on recall one week later when participants were given a chance to review their notes before taking the recall test. (Similar findings at the following link)

P.S.: Every student has pen, but not everyone has laptop. Besides, laptops in class have been controversial, due mostly to the many opportunities for distraction that they provide (online shopping, browsing Reddit, or playing solitaire, just to name a few).

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/take-notes-by-hand-for-better-long-term-comprehension.html

For me, I think  the best method is  to pay rapt attention to the Professor  which should be supported with  note taking by simply jotting down key words. At the end of the lecture, the student should make a comprehensive note in writing and should proceed to typeset the same for better storage and referencing.

It is becoming easier to resort to taking notes on a personal computer, first of all by the availability of the required instruments (often no longer have paper and pencil with us). In addition, the development of applications on laptops today facilitates not only texts are taken even by dictation, but graphics that relate ideas and concepts in space are generated. Clearly, all this will affect the ways in which we connect the actions and ideas in the brain and the elements that constitute our intelligence. But what perhaps the loss of skills to maneuver a horse riding and was not affected when we learned and resorted to the use of motor vehicles? They are not morally qualified own developmental changes and variation patterns of human doing that should be known and understood, but.

I think that it is still better to take notes by handwriting than by laptop typing but students nowadays may think otherwise. It seems that lots of studies still need to be done on this topic since some previous studies may have contrasting results. See, for example, the following:

https://sites.udel.edu/victorp/files/2010/11/Psychological-Science-2014-Mueller-0956797614524581-1u0h0yu.pdf

http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=pitzer_theses

Students who used longhand remembered more and had a deeper understanding of the material

The students’ scores differed immensely between longhand and laptop note takers. While participants using laptops were found to take lengthier “transcription-like” notes during the film, results showed that longhand note takers still scored significantly higher on conceptually-based questions. Mueller and Oppenheimer predicted that the decrease in retention appeared to be due to “verbatim transcription.”

https://hbr.org/2015/07/what-you-miss-when-you-take-notes-on-your-laptop

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/08/18/taking-notes-is-the-pen-still-mightier-than-the-keyboard/

Personally, I prefer to type on laptop rather than taking notes by hand.

I think that note-taking by hand is not an isolated practice but should be considered as a natural choice for people who like writing in general and note-taking in many other occasions such as expressive writing (having a diary), creative writing, for pragmatic reasons as a matter of personal organization (for directions, shopping), whenever there is too much information but not enough time (note-taking vs laptop is more comfortable during conferences if you want to attend many workshops).

There are so many types of lectures; if handouts are good and the talk is engaging, I would prefer not to take any notes. 

Here is one of the research papers on note-taking [Notes on Note-Taking: Review of Research and Insights for Students and Instructors] on which the article in your question is based http://hilt.harvard.edu/files/hilt/files/notetaking_0.pdf

I prefer taking it by hand

I think notes taking means notes by hand. One writes as one is told conveying all the nuances of the lecture. One can add symbols and marks to differentiate between more important ones for the normal ones, make figures and simultaneously increase or decrease the space and so on....

Though I like using a computer for many things but in case of taking notes at faculty development programmes, seminars I prefer to use a pencil and paper.

regards

Vibha

writing by hand can be almost automatic with proper listening and liking but typing, listening and linking may not be as easy as writing!

And writing is a hard copy easily located presenting a total picture (I feel)

Taking notes by hand may take little more time but this has an more accuracy covering a clear thinking so that we may place our action or even a performance in a very right way .

In Laptop we may carrying out the work in a fast way & perhaps it may help us to preserve our record however there are chances of sometimes omitting ,very useful information which we may find at a later stage.It depends upon the users that for his performance which practice he desires to adopt depend on his action .

This is my personal opinion 

Of course jotting down notes by hand is better than typing on whatever digital device. Writing jogs memory. That has been studied quite a lot lately. Writing has won the battle of the pads, dear Carmeen. The "legal pad" rules! The "legal pad" allows you to write, scratch, make bubbles, draw smily faces, jot down a telephone number or a new idea... I call it freedom.  

I personally write on Moleskine notebooks using fountain pens and mechanical pencils. 

Best regards, Lilliana

It depends on the subject. If you are in a history class, then you can use laptop to type the notes.  But if you are in a mathematics class, then it is better to take notes by hand. Mathematics has a certain way of writing. If we take notes by typing on a laptop that skill will not be developed. As Lilliana Ramos-Collado said writing jogs memory. So I will prefer to write by hand to typing on a laptop. I do believe that nothing can replace pen and paper completely.

I use stenography.Speedwriting,systems of Pitman and Gregg help me in conferences, seminars, precis.As for my students,they use laptops,smartphones and handwriting.It's effective to turn materials into plans, formula, symbols, schemes.Concentration and coordination improve the work of brain.Associative learning is based on kinesthetic,audial,visual memory.

May be,this interesting thread will be useful.

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_we_gradually_losing_our_ability_for_hand_writing_skills_and_fine_crafts

I love your answer, dearest Irina!!!

Warm regards, Lilliana

Dear Cameen:

My first thought is that this hypothesis would require more research !!

I think each method develops different kinds of skills and your choice depends on which of them is more comfortable to you.

If I have to take a lot of notes very quickly, I use paper and pencil, because my speed --using abbreviations and the like- is much higher.

I think that paper and pencil (pen) is sometimes the best harddisk :-))

It depends on the subject and your  interest If you  want to save your notes for a long time then you can use laptop because according to new addition you will be able to change to editing also add on it new things.  But I believe when we prepare your own notes with hand writing using a lot of reference books and internet.   But if you are in a mathematics, Physic  and physical chemistry , then it is better to take notes by hand if possible. I think If we take notes by typing on a laptop that skill will not be developed. I  believe this is a Brain and hand exercises.

Regards

Sukhvir Kaur 

My opinion is prefer Lecture Method, Teacher give instructions to students for preparing notes by own choice with help of teacher.

Dear all,

Thank you very much for kindly sharing your opinions on the question. Thank you very much also for the attached links--they are very interesting. It's great to hear what we in academia think and do. Thank you very much again.

Sincerely,

Cameen 

As I feel, taking down the notes by hand will be useful to capture the maximum percentage of the lecture. Typing is likely to miss most of the points. When writing down, the person can quickly jot down the important points so that he/she can make the full note later.

Then again, it will also be easier for someone to organize the note as they want by using mind mapping, diagrams etc. Since different people have different learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic etc.), it is essential for someone to organize his/her notes in a way that he/she can easily remember. Hence, to my opinion, writing facilitates efficient and effective learning rather than typing.

Best regards,

Sewwandi.

I think taking notes by hand is better than by typing on a laptop in field of natural sciences such as math, chemistry, physics... But it is better and faster if you take notes by typing on a laptop in the field of social sciences. It is myself case.

How do I stop this thread from appearing on my homepage?

Easy--stop clicking open this thread and let it pass like other threads that you didn't open, and stop dropping your message here, or you'll still see this thread if you continue. Does this make sense? 

no as it comes up in my email that I have another unwanted update...

Dr. Canning,

You asked in your deleted post why I asked this kind of inane question--you think my question is inane.  So in response to your last questions about how to remove this thread from your homepage and email, I'd like to ask you back with your own question "Why would you ask this kind of inane questions?"

This is not the place where you drop in to vent your dissatisfaction. This is the place where we share thoughts, experiences, and knowledge. My question is based on research work on the link I gave whereas your questions seem to result from your emotional outbursts. Your expressions are not relevant to the freedom of expression since they infringe on my right to free speech.

So if you don't like this thread, please stop dropping in to leave unconstructive messages. I will NOT respond to your irrationality any more.

With due respect,

Cameen 

 Dear professor Jacono,

Thank you very much for the link.  The link is very interesting as now in my place, students have been required to type their work since their early school years. Thank you very much again.

Sincerely,

Cameen 

Dear all,

Here is another interesting link about the question.

https://hbr.org/2015/07/what-you-miss-when-you-take-notes-on-your-laptop

Cameen

Dear Cameen Kettanun,

Most of the time, Students focus on something that make them in the environment of Lecture. The best way for me is recording the notes while taking some highlights. I prefer to take notes as draws to motivate the optical memory, which is the best way to memorize and recall the information within easy effort. Recording notes can give you a right track for reviewing purpose after you back home. 

Concentrate on the inputs of ears and eyes the best way to be in the environment of Lecture.

Lastly, Learning process is a habit you can develop everyday.

Best regards

Musab TR

Dear Mr. Al-Tarawni,

Thank you very much for kindly sharing your opinion. It's very interesting. 

Sincerely,

Cameen

Which do you think is better between taking notes by hand and by typing on a laptop?

Think it depends several factors, some of them & their justifications are mentioned below:

I also came across some students even took photos or audio recorded what the lecturers had lectured, go back home & do their own notes by replaying / repeating the audio or referring to the photos (copy & paste into the typed notes).

Dear Dr. Fung,

Thank you very much for kindly sharing your thoughts and experience.

This is a great analysis. 

Sincerely,

Cameen

Dear colleague

Writing by Hand

Less distractions. There are no other open windows, no messaging icon bouncing to get your attention.

It takes thought. I don’t know about you, but my typing is way faster than my writing, and it’s almost mindless. A sentence runs through my head, and suddenly it’s on the screen. It’s not the same with writing by hand – you’re physically carving every letter into your paper, and that makes it stick (at least more so than typing it).

There’s no fluff. Since writing by hand is considerably slower than typing, you don’t have time to scribble out every word that escapes your fast-talking professor’s mouth. Yes, this is a good thing. You’re removing all the fluff and marking down the main points – which results in more brain activity since you need to understand the concepts before you can summarize them.

Typing with a Laptop

It’s faster and easier. Writing by hand can be stressful, and if you’re focused, typing out your notes can be much more relaxing.

It’s organized. You don’t need to worry about figuring out what in the world that scribble was supposed to say, your bullet points are aligned, and everything is broken out into neat sections with a bold headline – maybe you’ve even thrown a table in there. It’s a beautiful thing! Even better is using the “Find” function when studying so you don’t have to waste time searching for that one time you used that one word in that one sentence.

Multitasking – if you’re disciplined. Stay signed out of any kind of social media – messaging, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Close your internet browser and only keep open the Word document you’re using to take notes. If your professor asks for an example, that’s the time to Google an answer to show you’re keen and paying attention! Multitasking should only be lecture-related, to enhance your understanding of the topics.

Thank you

 Dear Dr. Al mayahi,

Thank you very much for kindly sharing your thoughts and information.

Sincerely,

Cameen

I'm good at cursive writing both in English and Russian.As a rule, my friends used my  conspects- I could write every thought of the lecturer. If I work at the article, I adore to write the brightest thoughts by hand (to me, it's fun and pleasure) and then use a laptop, which can remove mistakes and not very good sentences.I like both ways, but I type slower.

Dear professor Pechonkina,

Thank you very much for kindly sharing your preference. Me too; I use both. Thank you very much again.

Sincerely,

Cameen