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Benefits of Printed Planners

The Benefits of Paper Planners

With digital media's popularity in the classroom, you might have considered whether it would be feasible to provide students with a digital planning tool instead of printing custom paper planners. Students receive many benefits from handwriting their notes, making the rewards paper planners worthwhile. Even though a digital planner is also an excellent tool, paper planners can keep students on track with some unique features.

How do printed planners promote learning and organization differently from digital media? Learn more about the advantages paper planners will give your students.

1. They Promote a Healthy Learning Environment

Paper planners can assist students in becoming more responsible for their learning while promoting a healthy learning environment. Some of the advantages a paper planner offers students in the classroom include: 

 

  • Fewer distractions: Paper planners are a controlled environment for students to organize their routines. Students associate digital devices with browsing other apps and social media, and they may give in to temptation when accessing their planner online.
  • More freedom from school policies: Students can access their paper planners even when policies restrict computer or cellphone usage. For example, they can review their schedules while they are waiting for classmates to finish a quiz. They can also leave their planners out in plain sight without breaking any rules.
  • Prioritized learning tasks: Teachers can encourage their students to use their paper planners when prompted with a new homework assignment. This can help them set priorities right away.
  • Teaches valuable shorthand skills: Students who practice writing their notes by hand can learn and apply abbreviations that they can use for efficient note-taking in higher grade levels or future job duties. 

2. They Allow for More Engagement

Writing should be an engaging activity for students. Paper planners are both engrossing and fun to use because of their:

  • Customizability: Students can decorate their paper planners with stickers, drawings and colored highlighters. Although some digital planners might have customization options that mimic the flexibility of handwriting, they can be more challenging to use. Only students with compatible tablet devices would be able to write with these features easily.
  • A motivating format: On paper, students can cross off each exam, assignment or meeting after completing it. Physically crossing off items on a long to-do list is a relieving, satisfying activity. Students can look forward to crossing off the next task as a reward for their hard work.
  • Logged accomplishments: Students can read through their old notes and see the long list of goals they have already achieved. Reviewing all of the challenging assignments they've completed gives them a confidence boost, helping them succeed at future challenges.

 

3. They Can Increase Learning Retention

Research on college students shows that handwriting helps with learning retention, and it's likely that students at any age can improve their learning by handwriting their notes. Ways that a paper planner benefits students' learning include:

 

  • Improved memory: Handwriting is associated with superior memory recall in comparison to typing. Although students can generate notes more quickly by using a keyboard, studies report that multitasking to take notes during class may result in scores 11% lower on tests. What's more, students near other students with laptops achieve 17% less comprehension than their peers who have no digital distractions in the classroom. Without devices, the information conveyed during a lecture is easier to remember during an exam, and students are less likely to forget assignment tasks typed in haste. 
  • Haptics processing: The brain relies on different areas to write on paper and to type. When a student writes out the letters, they work to stimulate areas of their cerebral cortex that are involved in memorization. Typing involves different brain regions that have a less pronounced effect on memory. Older students who take notes on a computer rely mostly on their muscle memory to form words. As a result, there are fewer tactile cues associated with what they record.

 

4. They Offer More Accessibility

Paper planners are always available and ready to use. They provide greater accessibility due to qualities such as:

 

  • Affordability: Students can access paper planners without an internet subscription or up-to-date technology. Writing tools are also more affordable in comparison. When many households lack a reliable internet connection, having access to a paper planner limits potential disadvantages.
  • Dependability: Students can carry their planners to class without charging a device to view the pages. Paper planners remain readable and ready for the next day when phones or computers die.
  • Durability: A student can drop a paper planner several times without damaging it. They are also unaffected by extreme changes in temperature and can be left in a hot car without consequences. 
  • Portability: Paper planners are small and lightweight. Students can store them in cubbies, binders or backpacks.

 

5. They Have Value as Keepsakes

Students and their families can hold on to old planners after each school year ends. Here are some things that make a paper planner ideal for saving precious memories:

 

  • Scrapbooking-friendly: Pages that a student is proud of can be repurposed in a scrapbook with photographs and other memorable items.
  • Storable: Paper planners can also be stored alongside yearbooks as a more complete history of the student's progression.
  • Freedom from technical difficulties: With a digital planner, accidental deletion of important pages and forgetting to save changes become possibilities. Paper planners have numbered pages, straightforward graphic layouts and easily skimmable pages. They are designed to remain intact as the student completes each section. 

 

Paper Planners vs. Digital Planners

Planners provide scaffolding for students to build organization skills, helping them learn to be more independent. As they balance their workload with extracurriculars and other responsibilities, students appreciate having a catered item to guide them.

Both versions of the planner are helpful tools, and many benefits of handwritten planners overlap with the digital kind. However, digital planners are more restricted in their usage. Ways digital planners differ from paper planners include:

  • While digital planners are convenient for on-the-go access, school policies must limit them to prevent unauthorized internet browsing.
  • Digital planners are vulnerable to power outages, internet crashes and computer viruses.
  • If a school chooses to use a planner app, the app must be accessible for all students, even those without recent technology.
  • Using paper planners is more affordable for families, whereas digital planners often rely on a connection to the internet and investments in portable digital devices.
  • Although digital planners are customizable, paper planners offer virtually limitless customization, courtesy of students' inventive imaginations.
  • Paper planners are easily skimmable, whereas digital versions are more difficult to click through to locate specific information.

 

Order Success by Design's Custom Paper Planners

Above all else, effective planners are durable and make thoughts easy to organize. The content inside should give students something to look forward to each day, inspiring them to learn as they track their growth. We at Success by Design value the daily educational triumphs students make as they work hard to achieve them.

Interested in ordering high-quality planners? Here at Success by Design, we stock planners organized by date for all age ranges, from elementary school kids all the way to high school students. We even offer planners dedicated to STEM schools and others organized by school subject. Plus, we print unique custom designs for bulk purchases. Consider giving your students our product and arm them with planners they can rely on, and call our friendly customer service team to discuss the planners that will work best for your students.


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