Should schools ban handwriting?

Hi everyone,

I am an English language teacher and, lately, I have seen many articles, webinars and forums focused on the wonders of mobile and e-learning. I am very enthusiastic about using mobile phones, smart boards, video-beam, tablets and laptops in class. However, I am concerned about the decline of my students' handwriting, as well as mine, due to this. Any thoughts on this topic? Thanks!

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    Kathy

    This is an interesting question! Penmanship aside, there might be equity and equality considerations;  for example, by banning handwriting, would students be required to have certain types of technology to be able to be participate and engage as much as their peers? For students who cannot afford this technology, would they be disadvantaged in any way? If you take different learning styles into consideration, some students learn better by writing things out by hand as well. I think that mobile and e-learning has come a long way and can be great teaching tools, but I don't think that you need to choose between one approach or the other. Sometimes it's better to allow students to go with whatever approach they are most comfortable with. 

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      Hasmita Dholakia

      The good handwriting is must for any student. Because of unreadable writings, the students often get fewer marks in board exams. Even they have written a good information in their answers, because of their bad or unreadable handwriting, they score fewer marks. Using of mobiles and laptops may have increased your typing speed, but in turn it has affected your writing habit. To improve in good handwriting, one needs practice which demands writing with hands, but not using laptop keyboard or using mobiles. 

      We provide the knowledge of using laptop in CBSE schools, but the same time the students are taught to improve their handwriting. 

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        zyrone walter

        No, i dont think this is a good idea. Handwriting brings creativity.