Wireless surfing in class

I was going to post something about this morning's NY Times article on the pros and cons (mostly cons, it would seem) of networked lecture halls, where instead of paying full attention to the professor, many laptop-equipped students channel-surf as if on a sofa at home.

Glenn Reynolds and Co. were already on this last night, however, so take a look for the law professor's point of view (and see the continuation with readers' comments here and here).

Leaving aside the issue of using laptops in class for purposes unrelated to the class, I do wonder about taking notes on a keyboard. It certainly is advantageous in allowing one to search one's notes afterwards, and it makes sharing and comparing notes much simpler. Nonetheless, when I take notes with pen and paper, I can (and do) make extensive use of connecting arrows, diagrams, and sketches -- none of which is easily done with most laptops. And though I am a good touch typist, I know that when typing I cannot focus on what I am hearing to the same degree that I can when scribbling with a pen.

AND NOW William Allison at Ideofact weighs in on pen vs keyboard, pointing out how the very act of writing is a form of mnemonics in a way that typing is not. Indeed, there is something about writing with a pen or pencil that is quantitatively different; tracing out one's own letters is tactile and direct: analog, if you will, not the serial switch-tapping digital of the keyboard. I think this goes beyond the fact that one first learns to write with some form of stylus -- we (or at least most of us) are wired analog, and with multiple forms of memory. The degree to which visual memory, aural memory, and fine motor memory overlap is often underappreciated.

Posted by David on January 2, 2003 10:03 AM