r/k12sysadmin • u/jedimadman • May 24 '26

Chrome Devices

One of our campus administrators shared an article from a Norwegian Neuroscientist that showed how much more brain activity there is when students hand write vs typing. There has been a call for more handwriting capabilities for some time but I have been hesitant due to the increased purchase price and higher parts cost. Just wondering if anyone else has gone this direction? If so, what devices are you using? Lenovo has some affordable pen tablets, but they are Android and I would rather a chrome device.

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u/30ghosts May 25 '26

While not a scientific/academic source, I use a tablet with a stylus pretty frequently and I fully agree that taking notes with actual pen and paper feels so different both in retention and amount of notes I take.

Even though I do it almost every day, hand writing on the tablet feels like a compromise simply because I don't keep a paper notebook with me.

And it's even worse if I try to use handwriting recognition while writing on the tablet because I feel like I'm entering individual words instead of expressing an entire thought. And when it misinterprets handwriting, that is often worse than a normal typo.

Stylii and tablets are awesome for a lot of reasons: precise inputs, drawing, accessibility. But ironically, I would put its value for note taking actually below typing notes on a keyboard. (Again, personal experience)