Snap & Write: Examining the Effect of Taking Photos and Notes on Memory for Lecture Content

Three studies investigated the effects of photo and note taking on memory for lecture content in in-person and online environments. Participants watched slideshow lecture videos and were instructed to only watch, take photos, take notes, or simultaneously take both photos and notes of the information on the slides. Memory for on-slide and only said information was tested using fill-in-the-blank questions. Experiment 1, conducted in-person, found a significant photo-taking impairment and an interaction for on-slide information such that there was a larger impairment when participants took both photos and notes compared to when they only took notes. Experiment 2 failed to replicate this interaction; there was an overall photo-taking impairment for on-slide information in an in-person learning environment. We additionally examined mind wandering as a potential mechanism driving these effects but found that it does not provide a sufficient explanation for our results. Experiment 3 used a design similar to Experiments 1 and 2 in an online environment and found a photo-taking benefit for on-slide information. Our results suggest that, in in-person classes, photo taking likely impairs learning, but, in online classes, photo taking may not be as harmful. Participants showed a note taking benefit in Experiments 2 and 3 across both class modalities.