Why Typing Is a Skill Every Student Needs

When was the last time you wrote something by hand without a teacher forcing you to do so? In an age where nearly everyone has a computer and a phone constantly in their hands, people are largely accustomed to typing. With this in mind, many students have the preference of typing instead of writing by hand. This matter has been occasionally discussed with teachers, particularly in conversations about how much time we spend on screens already. However, in academic matters, students can find typing advantageous for numerous reasons. I believe that overall, typing is more beneficial for students when learning.

Firstly, typing provides a comfort and familiarity that writing by hand does not have. My time spent typing has made me accustomed to it, a familiarity I believe many students share due to the prevalence of keyboards in daily life. The pandemic made people even more comfortable with writing digitally, since they were likely spending a lot of time typing both in school and outside of school-related activities. The experience that students typically have with typing can make it easier for students to complete assignments, providing advantages such as being able to type faster and for a longer period of time.

Secondly, typing provides objective advantages that handwriting does not have. A glaring drawback handwriting has is the additional time spent when fixing a mistake or editing. On paper, errors require erasing and rewriting, while computers allow quick corrections with backspace or even automatic fixes. This convenience, paired with the typing speed of a keyboard, can allow you to keep up with a lecture better, letting you make higher-quality notes. However, it isn’t just notes. The ease of typing on a keyboard can be appreciated when writing an essay, especially when they have a high word requirement, since you’ll already be spending lots of time just writing and researching. The last thing you want is to take even more time making adjustments that could’ve been done automatically or in seconds on a computer. Moreover, you have to worry about the quality of your handwriting on paper, while a keyboard eases that worry, making every letter you type perfectly legible. For these reasons, the numerous convenient features offered by typing are something that many students likely value greatly, even though they can seem small.

While some may argue that taking notes by hand engages the brain more and is therefore better for studying, research suggests that typing can be as effective. (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014) While handwriting does indeed allow students to understand concepts better since they’re more engaged while taking notes, digital notetakers typically have more content, with a higher frequency of writing their notes verbatim. If they review their notes and organize them, they will likely have access to more in-depth information than what would be available to someone who wrote their notes by hand. Therefore, while the argument that handwriting by hand engages the brain more is valid, since it allows a student to retain information better, it still doesn’t give it the upper hand over taking notes by typing, considering that a student can make more detailed, well-structured notes. This is important since it ensures they get crucial information from a teacher

Beyond academic success, typing has broader professional benefits. Being able to type and being familiar with software you will use is a key skill to have in the modern world. Digital literacy is significant for tasks such as writing emails, creating documents, creating infographics, making organized spreadsheets, etc. A study by Carrier, Lunsford, and Spector (2019) emphasizes that technical proficiency is not only beneficial for academic success but also for future professional environments. Therefore, being proficient in typing lets you be more productive; a survey by typing.com, which interviewed 980 adults that worked full-time, revealed that “On average, those surveyed spent 22.3 hours of their workweeks typing.” Using your time in school to gain experience on skills you may use in your future can make you a more efficient worker and make the overall process of completing tasks smoother, since you had the chance to fix and learn from your mistakes in school. It is likely that the primary method you will use to write in a professional environment will be typing. When asked about the topic, Mr. Dane, who is an ELA teacher for middle and high school, made a comment about how some of his students were unable to read their own handwriting. Not having basic handwriting skills would be something that could be disadvantageous for your career if you had to write by hand and your coworkers or boss would see it. As such, it is important to be able to write by hand when needed, but you don’t need to excel at it. Thus, since the primary purpose of school is to prepare you for work, this is a good environment to become accustomed to computers and typing.

In conclusion, while it’s essential to know basic handwriting skills, typing provides far greater advantages for academic activities and work, making school an appropriate time and place to develop the skill, since it will allow you to be a more productive worker once you have a job.

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ABOUT LOGAN

I am Logan and I am in the 10th grade. My interests in journalism are informative articles. I have a particular interest in writing about major world events and politics. In addition, I have an interest in writing game reviews, since I enjoy playing video games in my free time. I enjoy the FPS genre of games in particular. As a first-time journalist, I am excited to begin writing articles in Centner.