While technology is increasingly popular in education, some schools in the Netherlands are restricting laptops and phones during class to help students concentrate and absorb lessons better.

This trend is being implemented at a number of educational institutions from high school to university in the Netherlands, with the goal of reducing distracting factors when students use electronic devices.

Information technology students also study without computers

Notably, even the information technology program at Koning Willem I Vocational School in Cuijk has tested non-computer classes since the beginning of this school year. Students take notes on theory with pen and paper, then use these notes to do exercises on the computer.

School representative Danny Thewissen said students are more attentive when there are no longer distracting factors from electronic devices.

At the University of Amsterdam, the interdisciplinary Social Sciences program does not allow students to use laptops, phones and tablets during theory lectures from this school year. Instead, students take notes on paper.

Some people find this way of studying useful, while others want to be able to choose their own method of note-taking and exam preparation.

Does taking notes by hand help you remember lessons better?

At Saxion University of Applied Sciences, restricting electronic devices in a class of first-year social work students also received mixed feedback.

Some students say they find it easier to concentrate and remember lessons when taking notes by hand. However, those who are used to organizing documents on computers find it inconvenient and waste more time copying and editing notes. Instructors still allow the use of computers when looking up or when the device actually supports the lesson.

According to professor emeritus of educational psychology Paul Kirschner, taking notes by hand forces learners to select main ideas, summarize and restate lecture content. Thanks to that, they actively process information instead of retyping the lecture verbatim.

However, Head of the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences program Michaela Hordijk admitted that research is currently inconsistent on whether taking notes by hand helps learners remember lessons better or not.

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