Hand-Written Notes vs Typed Notes

[KhmerBoyZ]

Hey AN community!

I just wanted to know what your preferences are when it comes to note taking. Do you prefer to hand write them or type them? Why?

[Aaron]

Typed. Anytime anywhere access incase I lose my book... which is very common these days. Save them to a cloud storage service e.g. Google Drive and you can access them on any device too. Probably wouldn't be as effective as a school student since tech is limited, but defs from a uni and work perspective... typed is great.

Questions such as these are personal preferences..... everybody here may say handwritten is better, but you may absolutely hate handwriting notes. Try both, see which fits you more. We are all different.

[jamonwindeyer]

Mine actually changed at university! In the HSC I preferred typing, because it seemed more organised and easier to absorb later. At university though, things got way more mathematical for me and typing out notes for those sorts of things is a paaaain. So I swapped to handwritten - But I do it on my iPad Pro and back the PDF's up to the cloud. Best of both worlds

[Jimmmy]

Throughout my schooling, all my STEM subject notes have always been handwritten, whilst my English/Humanities notes were roughly taken by hand and transferred onto my technological device of choice afterwards.

I still consistently hear that writing out notes helps you learn them better, so on that marker my Methods score is sure to beat my other ones.   

[avocadinq]

Handwriting for sure, comes in handy for STEM subjects where it's difficult to draw diagrams online and also improves your handwriting speed in preparation for exams. But for writing summary notes after class, I prefer typing because it's quicker (ONLY for content heavy subjects) and it means that I have more time to do past papers, flashcards etc

[Sine]

I think handwriting is a better method for learning and understanding, however, I type my notes for a few reasons.
-I can add onto them later
-They can't get "lost" - will always have a backup copy
-Takes less time
-At uni there is way too much content to hand write efficiently
-Can type quickly during lectures
-I can type onto lecture notes

 

[noisem]

Handwritten for learning, typed for ease of access (<3 Ctrl+F). Typing up your handwritten notes, and so processing that information a second time, is a very helpful way of moving information from your working memory, to short-term, to long-term.

Anecdote: I typed my notes during my first two years of university but was forced to start handwriting when my laptop died for a few weeks. After making the switch I found I was more on top of concepts than I was when I was typing, so I never switched back! It makes sense when I think about it now. When I was typing verbatim what my lecturer was saying, I was pretty much just generating a transcript. Same goes for copying down PowerPoint slides word for word. Having to handwrite forced me to identify the key bits of information amongst everything else that was being said. This meant engaging the concept at a deeper level.

[EmilyWan]

I need hand-written notes when I have something to learn or memorize.
but if it's ordinary writings I prefer to type em cause it's much faster and convenient for further use.

[miss_ash_mash]

In class, I usually prefer to handwrite my notes tbh but I'll have like 7 different coloured pens and 6 highlighters so it's easier to group and link concepts ya know? But when I revise for SACs and exams I like to retype my notes so they're more concise and summarised AND bc I usually type them up on google docs I can just revise notes on my phone anytime and anywhere lol.. makes it easier to recall info.

Now that I think about it though.. only go all out with colours if you can write both fast and neat..dont waste class time picking between pink and purple lol

[lil_missfish]

Hey, I tried typing my notes in year 11 but i tended to write "lengthy paragraphs" rather than summary notes. I also felt a bit restricted on word. I started to write my notes in year 12 and its so much compressed compared to my "lengthy paragraphs". I also felt like when i hand write my notes i remember them. With handwritten notes i draw diagrams (very helpful with sciences) and annotate the diagrams and i feel more free handwriting notes. Though with typing notes they are more organised as you can go through them, delete or add what you need/didn't need. But just like experiment both and see what is more effective. Hope it helps

[blueycan]

For my sole VCE subject this year, I've started to try out handwriting my notes in class, and then transferring them to a Google Docs sheet when I'm at home. Handwriting kind of solidifies my knowledge and then I neaten them up, add extra information, or change around some words when I'm typing them up. My typed notes are the ones I study.
Also, I seperate my notes and my questions into two different exercise books (: