Ironically, the arrival of the iPad and other tablet-like devices, plus touchscreen smartphones, are providing a means to use handwriting and technology together. New educational games for those devices could be used to teach cursive to children as a game.
In an age when people are not writing personal notes on paper, where email, eCards, texting, and Facebook messages have replaced the art of written communication, I treasure the handwritten cards and letters I received over the years.
At Mountaineer Montessori in Charleston, teacher Sharon Spencer tells children in her class: “In the age of computers, what if we are on a desert island and don’t have electricity? One of the ways we communicate is through writing.”
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Article comments
1 - birgit nazarian
Very good article. We still had to practice the Zaner Bloser method of writing when I was in school, my kids have no clue what it is, but they have keyboarding class starting in 4th grade.
2 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
"what if we are on a desert island and don’t have electricity?"
And , what, Fountain pens will be readily available? What are they going to write with on a desert island? Is the island going to be that big that they can't talk to one another?
Seriously, though,I'm torn. It may be possible that what their saying is true that somehow using more parts of the brain to concentrate on learning actually helps you learn it better(though MRI activity doesn't necessarily prove it),but, does it only help with learning the letters or how to write better? I mean, does handwriting a math equation on paper help you get the solution quicker? I think, maybe, the MRI activity they see is just proof of what your brain has to do in order to move the arm, hand & fingers to work in conjunction with your eyes to finish a task. I would have to read more research to go beyond that idea.
Again, I'm torn because part of me thinks this is just the nostalgia effect working on people. Change is sometimes hard to cope with especially if it has to deal with your job becoming obsolete.
3 - Pablo Valerio
Not Nostalgia:
The hand/brain relationship is very important in learning.
Nobody suggests using a fountain pen on a desert island, but handwriting can be used anywhere, anytime, computers and cell phones not.
"Other research highlights the hand's unique relationship with the brain when it comes to composing thoughts and ideas. Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says handwriting differs from typing because it requires executing sequential strokes to form a letter, whereas keyboarding involves selecting a whole letter by touching a key.
She says pictures of the brain have illustrated that sequential finger movements activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory?"the system for temporarily storing and managing information.
And one recent study of hers demonstrated that in grades two, four and six, children wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard."
4 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
So, why didn't you just include that information in your article?? Is there a website where I can read this person's research?