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Many college students believe that typing lecture notes on computers produces better notes and higher achievement than handwritten lecture notes on paper. The few studies investigating computer versus longhand note taking yielded mixed note-taking and achievement findings. The present study investigated computer versus longhand note taking but permitted note takers to revise or recopy notes during pauses interspersed throughout the lecture. Moreover, the present study analyzed notes recorded while a lecture was ongoing and following revision pauses to determine if lecture ideas and images were recorded completely or partially. Findings did not support the belief that computers aid note taking and achievement and, instead, favored longhand note taking and revision. Computer and longhand note takers recorded a comparable number of complete and partial ideas in notes while the lecture was ongoing, but longhand note takers recorded more lecture images. Among note revisers, longhand note takers added three-times-as-many complete ideas to their notes during revision as computer note takers--an important finding because note completeness predicted achievement. Achievement results showed that longhand note takers who revised notes scored more than half a letter grade higher on a lecture posttest than computer note takers who revised notes. Present findings suggest that college instructors should provide students with revision pauses to improve note taking and achievement and encourage students to record and revise notes using the longhand method. Finally, regarding the computer versus longhand note-taking debate, the need to investigate further the interplay between note-taking medium and lesson material is discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine how graphic organizer completeness (complete, partial, or no organizer) and note-taking medium (longhand or computer) affect note-taking quantity and quality and affect computer-based learning. College students were presented with a computer-based PowerPoint lesson accompanied by complete, partial, or no graphic organizers. Throughout the lesson, students recorded notes using either longhand or computer mediums. Students were tested immediately following the lesson and again two days later following a review period during which graphic organizers and notes were studied. Finally, students completed a survey. Results revealed that organizer completeness affected achievement. Those given complete organizers generally achieved more than those with partial or no organizers across fact-, relationship-, concept-, and skill-based test items. Note-taking medium did not affect achievement differentially, but there were important note-taking findings. Longhand note takers recorded more lesson ideas in notes and had fewer verbatim strings in notes (reflective of more generative processing) compared to computer note takers. Moreover, longhand note takers reported more positive attitudes about their note-taking medium than did computer note takers. Results suggested that complete organizers aid germane load more than partial organizers and that longhand note taking results in deeper processing than does computer note taking. Therefore, instructors should provide complete organizers to promote student learning and should encourage students to take longhand notes when they learn in a computer-based learning environment.

Today's traditional-aged college students are avid users of mobile technology. Commonly referred to as the Net Generation, today's college students spend several hours each day using their smart phones, iPads, and laptops. Although some scholars initially opined that the Net Generation would grow into technologically savvy digital natives who would leverage their unprecedented access to technology for professional and academic betterment, contemporary research has rejected the digital native myth. Instead, college students frequently use mobile technology for off-task purposes while attending classroom lectures or doing schoolwork outside of class--a phenomenon known as cyber-slacking. This article provides college educators with an overview of the frequency and consequences of cyber-slacking inside and outside the classroom and seven instructional implications for curbing cyber-slacking. Proposed strategies for curbing cyber-slacking include rejecting the digital native myth, adopting and enforcing technology policies, consciousness raising, motivating students to relinquish their devices, incorporating active learning in the classroom, using mobile technology as a teaching tool, teaching students to be self-regulated learners, and motivating students to delay gratification from their mobile devices.

Computational thinking and creative thinking are valuable tools both within and outside of computer science (CS). The goal of the project discussed here is to increase students' achievement in CS courses through a series of computational creativity exercises (CCEs). In this paper, the framework of CCEs is described, and the results of two separate studies on their impact on student achievement are presented. Students in introductory CS courses completed CCEs as part of those courses. Students in Study 1 came from a variety of programs, and students in Study 2 were engineering majors. A profiling approach was used to test whether the impact of the CCEs could be accounted for by differences in students' motivated and self-regulated engagement. Overall, CCEs had positive impacts on students' grades and knowledge test scores, and although there were differences in achievement across the profiles, the impact of the CCEs was generally consistent across profiles. The CCEs appear to be a promising way to increase student achievement in introductory CS courses. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

This research investigated the relationships among undergraduate computer science students’ computer-science-related career aspirations, perceived instrumentality (PI) for computer science courses, and achievement in those courses. Specifically, the two studies examined (a) change in PI and career aspirations during a single semester, (b) the relationship between change in career aspirations and change in PI, and (c) the influence of career aspirations, PI, and change in career aspirations and PI on achievement in computer science courses. Findings from both studies revealed that students experienced a decrease in endogenous PI and career aspirations and an increase in exogenous PI during the semester. Study 1 showed that non-computer science majors experienced greater shifts in PI and career aspirations than computer science majors. Study 2 showed that the change in PI happened in parallel and was curvilinear, with more change happening in the first half of the semester than the second half. Both studies also showed that computer-science-related career aspirations were associated with PI, and that aspirations and PI had a stronger relationship with scores on a computer science knowledge test than with course grades. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]