Handwriting versus typewriting in university students who will become teachers

Abstract

Handwriting with a pen or pencil is significantly different from writing using a digital device. Writing in block letters, cursive or typing on a keyboard are modalities associated with different brain patterns, each of which gives rise to a different product. The spread of typewriting fuels the fear of an impoverishment of handwriting, the consequences of which have recently been highlighted, especially in children and young people, in terms of cognitive, perceptive, motor and linguistic development. Several neuroscientific studies have tried to clarify aspects and contours of the problem, trying to define the advantages and limits of typewriting compared to manual writing. In this paper, we have summarized the most relevant reflections, emerging from the scientific literature on the subject. Furthermore, the results of an exploratory study carried out on 251 university students are discussed; the survey aimed to test the hypothesis of possible different developments of the written expression capacity related to the concepts formulated by the students, according to the writing method used (by hand or typed), for taking notes, asking questions and providing answers.