Want to take notes? Better to use a pen and paper even when a keyboard is handy.

I was surfing the sciencedaily.com site and found this release which states that for better recall of conceptual facts, it is better to take long notes than transcribe on a laptop. The article might be old but I believe it is useful.

What are the reasons given? In brief:

• When it concerns remembering conceptual information, taking long notes with your pen or biro triumphs over taking notes using your laptop.
• As for recalling common knowledge or facts, both methods of transcription were found equally adequate.
• Your mind tends to process the information it receives while taking long notes; when using a laptop for taking notes, most persons just write out what they hear verbatim without processing them. One more reason why when you’re involved in an important meeting or session, you’d better go for taking long notes with a pen and paper.
• Lastly, long note takers tend to recall facts jotted down a week or more after the original notes were taken better than persons who typed them out originally using a laptop.

Overall, even where taking notes on a laptop will be the norm, the good old pen and paper still triumphs, especially when that note will be important weeks later.