Literature Review 1
Is the Pen Mightier Than the Keyboard? A Comprehensive Analysis of
Research on Longhand versus Digital Notetaking
Ryan Troutman
School of Education, Liberty University
Author Note
Ryan Troutman
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ryan Troutman.
Email: rwtroutman@liberty.edu
Literature Review 2
Abstract
The rise in technology has led to an increased number of students who are using digital means to
take notes in classes. Many professors would rather their students stick to tradition and use
longhand to take their notes instead. This has led a number of individuals to seek out whether
longhand note-taking has any discernible advantage to digital note-taking. The experiments that
these individuals conducted gave a slight advantage to longhand note-taking, but questions of
validity surround much of the research. Students who take notes via digital means, such as a
laptop or tablet, generally have better quality notes due to being able to type faster than their
peers can hand-write. However, this leads to a lesser comprehension of the material, at least in
the short term. More research needs to be done in this area in order to fully answer the question.
Keywords: note-taking, technology, researchers, longhand, digital, laptop keyboard,
advantage, testing, validity, laboratory, classrooms,
Literature Review 3
Is the Pen Mightier Than the Keyboard? A Comprehensive Analysis of Research on
Longhand versus Digital Notetaking
As technology increases in utility and accessibility, a certain question continues to be
asked: is using technology always the best option? There are obvious cases where this question
can be easily answered with an affirmative, and there are obvious cases where the use of
technology is not the best option. But in between those two extremes, there lies a large gap filled
with cases that have no easy answer to that question. One such case is that of note-taking in a
college lecture. Students will usually have the option to take hand-written notes, or they can type
their notes out. Finding the answer to the question—is using technology the best option—could
have quite the impact on the lives of college students who are simply trying to cram as much
knowledge into their heads in a limited amount of time. Over the last ten years, the number of
researchers investigating this question has dramatically increased; each has found interesting
results that, when mixed together, may paint an interesting and insightful picture.
Discussion of Key Terms
There are a few key terms that must be explained and discussed prior to digging deep into
the literature that examines the question of whether using technology to take notes is the superior
option to taking notes by hand. The first term to examine is “longhand note-taking.” This refers
to any method in which students are physically writing down the lecture notes. They may use a
binder, a notebook, or even an electronic notepad or tablet. No matter which piece they choose to
write on, the students are taking the time to hand-write the notes.
The second key term to examine is “digital note–taking.” This refers to any method in
which students are typing out the lecture notes. This can be accomplished through the use of a
personal laptop, tablet, or even a cell phone. Throughout the lecture, these students type out on
Literature Review 4
their device whatever notes they want to jot down. Some of these students may use the same type
of device as those who use the longhand method. For example, a student who uses an iPad to
take notes could use it with the Apple Pencil or some other stylus to take notes via longhand.
Another student who uses the exact same type of iPad could attach a Magic Keyboard or a
Bluetooth keyboard and take notes digitally. For the purpose of this literature review, it is
important to note that the two styles of note-taking differ due to the method in which the notes
are transcribed, not due to what those notes are transcribed on.
Review of the Literature
Assumed Positives
Before digging too deep into the topic, both longhand and digital note-taking seem to
have several positive traits each at first glance. Longhand note-taking is the traditional method
