I don’t know what to make of this. The TL;DR is that after many years, Sweden is returning to more traditional methods in education, including an emphasis on physical books and handwriting. On the one hand, there is some actual scientific research showing that taking notes by hand rather than a keyboard helps with retention. There are also claims that handwriting helps with cognitive development although I’m not sure the evidence is as strong.
On the other hand, this whole thing reeks of politics having little to do with education or what’s best for children. The claim, of course, is that it is what’s best for children but those words are a sure sign that you should be checking for your wallet.
In Sweden’s case, the change seems largely driven by the ascendance of a more conservative government. This doesn’t mean the conservatives are evil or stupid but they are conservative; They’re resistant to change—or at lease rapid change—and tend to like things “the way they were”. A lot of what they claim seems more nostalgic than scientific.
It is—for me—hard to see how reading a physical book is much different from reading the exact same material on a tablet or computer. Of course, I was a bit surprised that handwritten notes were more effective than typed ones so my intuition is probably suspect.
It is, I think, a valid criticism that doing things digitally just because it seems trendy without considering how it’s going to improve learning is a waste of time and money. As usual it’s the politicos driving that process just as it’s (probably) the politicos driving the current retrenchment.
The wisest path is probably taking the best from each method but that’s so politically unsatisfying. For example, if writing by hand really is better, why not write on a tablet with a stylus and gain both improved retention and all the benefits of having a digital record of your writing?