There have been a number of studies (one, two, three) that show that writing notes by hand is better for memory retention than typing. Some of the studies have used only handwriting vs typing, some are writing on paper vs typing, and some try to use a tablet or smartphone as the digital alternative (sometimes with a stylus).

When I’m hand printing, it’s much slower than hand writing. My normal scrawl is an awful hybrid of the two that only I can read, but it’s what I used through university. I don’t think I could have kept up with lectures if I was printing, and the research is seemingly in favour of paper instead of digital. Handwriting helped me if only because it gave me a method of writing quickly.

That said, if Leece was actually referring to this research, he’d be able to defend his position pretty easily. Given all the handwaviness, it’s probably just another way to cut funding from schools and he just make up a reason that happened to match some studies.