Handwriting versus typing

Cognitive implications in reading acquisition process

Abstract

With new writing technologies, pen and paper are being replaced by the keyboard or by the touch screen. If schooled adults write little by hand, is it important to continue teaching small children how to handle pencil and pen? The present work aims to understand what are the cognitive implications of learning handwriting as opposed to typing on the keyboard or touch technology. For this, an integrative bibliographic research was carried out based on the contributions of Longcamp et al. (2005; 2008) and other researchers who investigate the processes involved in learning to read and the ability of the human being to adapt to writing and, later, to digitization, due to their brain plasticity (DEHAENE, 2010; CARR, 2012; KOLINSKY, 2015). Studies indicate that handwriting allows the formation of procedural memories related to letter tracing (IZQUIERDO, 2018), contributing to the visual recognition of letters, as well as to overcome the mirroring phase (SCLIAR-CABRAL, 2013). Visual recognition of letters combined with phonemic awareness is the first step to be consolidated in order to achieve the reading of the words and later the comprehension. Once this initial condition is disadvantaged, the process of learning to read becomes slower and, often, deficient. Therefore, the bibliographic research conducted here suggests that typing should not replace handwriting in the initial learning of reading and writing by children