A team in Norway recently conducted in-depth research on writing by hand and typing on a keyboard.
The team invited 36 university students who had to either write or type words displayed on a screen. The study participants used a digital pen to write in cursive （草书） on a touchscreen, and they used one finger on a keyboard to type. The researchers used a special cap with 256 sensors. This cap was worn by the students, and their brain activity was recorded for five seconds each time they were asked to write or type.
"We show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more complex than when typewriting on a keyboard," says Professor Audrey van der Meer, the team leader. "Such widespread brain connectivity is known to be important for memory formation and for encoding （编码） new information and, therefore, is beneficial for learning." The researchers also note that even though the participants used digital pens for writing in the study, they believe the findings would be similar if the participants used an ink pen and paper.
"We've shown that the differences in brain activity are related to the careful forming of the letters when writing by hand while making more use of the senses. Since it's the movement of the fingers carried out when forming letters that promotes brain connectivity, writing in print also has similar benefits for learning as cursive writing," Audrey adds. "This also explains why children who have learned to write and read on a tablet can have difficulty differentiating between letters that are mirror images of each other, such as 'b' and 'd'. They haven't felt with their bodies what it feels like to produce those letters."
Considering handwritten note-taking is becoming less common in educational settings, the researchers advocate for more opportunities for students to write by hand. "There's some evidence that students learn more and remember better when taking handwritten lecture notes, while using a computer with a keyboard may be more pragmatic when writing a long text or essay," Audrey concludes.
