Paper or Digital?

I rather use paper because I feel much more comfortable and it is easier for me read and some students can process the content better. But some kids are more comfortable with screens.

E-readers appeal by being travel-friendly and storing a whole library at your fingertips, but print books seem to win when it comes to comprehension. Studies have shown that readers often remember more when they consume material in print rather than from a digital source. This is most likely linked to the concept of spatial context, which causes “seemingly irrelevant factors like remembering whether you read something at the top or the bottom of page—or whether it was on the right or left hand side of a two-page spread or near a graphic—can help cement material in mind.”

According to the market research firm Millward Brown, “tangible materials leave a deeper footprint in the brain.” The physical and sequential task of writing letters and words creates a stronger connection with working memory than tapping on a keyboard. The physical representation of written plans and tasks is then perceived as more “real,” which makes them easier to remember. Here are tricks to writing a more productive to-do list.

A UCLA study has shown that manually writing notes with a pen and paper is more conducive to retaining information than typing notes on a laptop or computer. This is because “analog” note takers—those who used a pen and paper—were forced to synthesize lectures rather than merely transcribe everything they heard word for word. Being forced to sort out what was worthy of being written helped to trigger stronger mental processes that promote retention, a phenomenon known as “desirable difficulty.” Additionally, digital note-takers often felt less compelled to study because they felt all the answers were right there on their laptops, and would typically perform more poorly on exams.