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# Whiteboards vs. Computers and the Impact on Learning
- URL: https://www.kevinmeyer.com/whiteboards-vs-computers-and-the-impact-on-learning/
- Published: 2010-10-12T03:25:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-07T17:44:35.000Z
- Author: Kevin Meyer
- Tags: Software Sirens, #Migrated-1752356847400, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-07-12 14:48

I often rant on the evils of computers, especially when they are used to try to manage a factory floor. It's amazing how [a simple whiteboard can be far more powerful](https://www.kevinmeyer.com/forget%5Fsap%5Frun%5F/). I'm not against technology - in fact I'm more than a bit of a tech geek. I just believe that technology can be overused thereby actually increasing unnecessary complexity.

The Wall Street Journal recently had an article on handwriting and how it can enhance learning. I found many similarities to my thoughts on the power of manual and visual systems such as whiteboards. Parents of young children may also want to take note.

*Using advanced tools such as magnetic resonance imaging, researchers are finding that writing by hand is more than just a way to communicate. The practice helps with learning letters and shapes, can improve idea composition and expression, and may aid fine motor-skill development.* 

*It's not just children who benefit. Adults studying new symbols, such as Chinese characters, might enhance recognition by writing the characters by hand, researchers say. Some physicians say handwriting could be a good cognitive exercise for baby boomers working to keep their minds sharp as they age.*

There it is in a nutshell, but I'm a bit too passionate about this subject to simply stop.

*"It seems there is something really important about manually manipulating and drawing out two-dimensional things we see all the time," says Karin Harman James, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Indiana University who led the study.*

*She \[Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington\] says pictures of the brain have illustrated that sequential finger movements activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing and managing information.*

*And one recent study of hers demonstrated that in grades two, four and six, children wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard.*

So now think about the process of simply entering in (and expediting and correcting...) data into an MRP system versus writing it by hand on a whiteboard - or moving status indicators or drawing a value stream map. Which creates a better understanding of the numbers and their relationship and meaning? Which will then stimulate creativity to spark improvements?