Pen mightier than computer keyboard

Washington: Pen is mightier than gun, they used to say. But now a study found that pen is faster than a computer key board.

Second, fourth and sixth grade children with and without handwriting disabilities were able to write more and faster when using a pen than a key board to compose essays.

The study, headed by Virginia Berninger of the University of Washington, a professor of educational psychology, looked at children’s ability to write the alphabet, sentences and essays using a pen and a key board.

“Children consistently did better writing with a pen when they wrote essays. They wrote more and they wrote faster,” said Berninger.

Only for writing the alphabet was the keyboard better than the pen. For sentences, the results were mixed. When using a pen the children in all three grade levels produced longer essays and composed them at a faster pace, he said