Do people even take handwritten notes anymore?

[Ryan17]

Ok, so I'm talking about notes for pre-req classes such as Chem, Bio, Physics.

Do people even take handwritten notes anymore? Help a nontrad student out here. What do you fellow nontrads do? Should I be typing everything on a laptop?

It would seem a bit hard to draw certain diagrams on a computer for bio class, though.

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[midnight0il]

Most of my classes had slides where I had handwritten my notes on the side or in the margins. Also, you can't really get away with a computer for Orgo.

 

[LupaCupcake]

I personally like having an old fashioned pad of paper and drawing thought bubbles and notes with little symbols that I understand. I put a big S with a circle by stuff that needs to be studied etc. Go with what works for you

 

[sazerac]

In undergrad I pre-printed slides (sometimes 2 to a page, sometimes 3 plus room for lines notes) and took notes in class.

In med school the number of slides was insane and I kept running out of ink and paper, so I got an iPad to take notes on the slides on my screen.

If you like paper and it is affordable and manageable, keep using it. There's nothing magical about digital notes, except incremental materials cost and organization.

 

[Ryank327]

I think the majority of people still take handwritten notes. In my chem and bio classes almost the whole classes prints out the slides beforehand and takes notes on those or just takes notes in a notebook. In my bio class they will only let you use an electronic device for notes if you sit in the back 2 rows so you don't distract the other students when you end up googling, redditing or facebooking.

 

[Stoptheclot]

Most of my classes had slides where I had handwritten my notes on the side or in the margins. Also, you can't really get away with a computer for Orgo.

Seriously, I couldn't imagine NOT taking handwritten notes for orgo or physics. You could maybe get away with it for chem, and i used typed out notes for almost all of my bio courses.

EDIT: maybe get one o those surface tablets some o those young, hip trads are talking about that lets you take handwritten notes.

 

[Major]

Old school here!

My classes have slides also but my professors will say important things not on the slides, I write that down

Then directly after class I re-write the notes with different color pens and order it.

I'll then go over the slides and write down the really important stuff in my own words, again in different colored pens

Something from the text book that is good, I write it down

I know lots of people will use their laptops nows in class but I just prefer hand writing and getting taking thoughts to paper

 

[Major]

And for orgo, a dry erase white board you can carry with you to the library.

So much easier than using paper. I would just keep writing over and over agin until I had the mechanism memorized. Come exam time I had every single step down. My professor had mechanism section that you had to write out the whole thing, no multiple choice option.

Yeah some people may give you a second glance for carrying around the white board, BUT they most likely haven't taken orgo

 

[DocWinter]

Yeah, pen and paper or writing in the margins of the textbook.

Like someone mentioned, in UG printing out the slides 4 or 6 to a page and writing on the slides works.

 

[Elizabethx89]

I take handwritten notes in class AND while I'm studying from the book. It's the best way to ensure I absorb the information. I would LOVE to be one of those people who can grasp things by reading over them quickly, but if I don't write and map things out by hand, I tend to forget them. I took somewhere around 100 handwritten pages of notes for my last genetics exam. I realize I'll probably have to find a more efficient study method if I go to med school.

 

[frosted_flake]

I take handwritten notes in class AND while I'm studying from the book. It's the best way to ensure I absorb the information. I would LOVE to be one of those people who can grasp things by reading over them quickly, but if I don't write and map things out by hand, I tend to forget them. I took somewhere around 100 handwritten pages of notes for my last genetics exam. I realize I'll probably have to find a more efficient study method if I go to med school.

I feel the same way! I tend to print the power point 4 slides/page front and back, then take notes on those. Then I either enter the information into quizlet or make an outline and study from that.
I got the surface tablet and tried to do electronic notes and I couldn't remember a thing I wrote down.
There is nothing like pen on paper!!

 

[EMDO2018]

I take handwritten notes in class AND while I'm studying from the book. It's the best way to ensure I absorb the information. I would LOVE to be one of those people who can grasp things by reading over them quickly, but if I don't write and map things out by hand, I tend to forget them. I took somewhere around 100 handwritten pages of notes for my last genetics exam. I realize I'll probably have to find a more efficient study method if I go to med school.

So you haven't quit

 

[wholeheartedly]

I have to handwrite most stuff for it to stick. Especially things like physics and ochem. I would prefer to take notes on my ipad or a tablet with a stylus if I can find a good one. Just because its easier to have everywhere. I do have an awesome fast document scanner though so its easy to get my notes on the iPad to review anywhere.

 

[frosted_flake]

I have to handwrite most stuff for it to stick. Especially things like physics and ochem. I would prefer to take notes on my ipad or a tablet with a stylus if I can find a good one. Just because its easier to have everywhere. I do have an awesome fast document scanner though so its easy to get my notes on the iPad to review anywhere.

That is a great idea....
Can you use it to search text (both hand written and typed?) that would save me A LOT of trouble!

 

[Elizabethx89]

So you haven't quit

No, I mean, there's only a month and a week left of my classes, so it would be silly not to at least finish the ones I already started.

 

[milski]

Paper and pen for me as well. I never read them though. For me the most useful part is that taking notes makes me pay attention to the lecturer or the book and forces me to synthesize the important points as he talks. Scribbling on an iPad or something like that might work since I don't really care about legibility but I'll need to try it first.

 

[wholeheartedly]

That is a great idea....
Can you use it to search text (both hand written and typed?) that would save me A LOT of trouble!

I haven't done it yet, but I do have program that's capable of taking my scanned files that were saved as PDFs and converting them to a format that allows you to search your handwritten stuff.

 

[GreenBlade]

Handwritten notes every time. It's helped me maintain a 4.0 cGPA & sGPA.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

Is writing "D.O." in place of do one of those cool internet meme things?


Edit: Hahaha, SDN won't let me write "d o " only do.

 

[abn632]

Livescribe pens are awesome but pricey. I find it useful for reviewing lecture notes because it combines the audio with the handwritten notes. It would be awesome if they could make a Livescribe pen with multiple colors because that would greatly help out in my organic chemistry class.

Evernote is awesome. I purchase hard copy text books and scan the relevant chapters into Evernote which can search the text. This way I can have both the physical textbook and an electronic version. Evernote is supposed to be able to scan and read handwriting but I haven't tested that feature. You can probably do this with OneNote, too. I've only begun to explore OneNote, but it looks very promising.

 

[CajunMedic]

I handwrote everything until Bio 2. There was so much information and graphics it was just easier to type into word. I tried using my iPad for O-chem 2 since the professor used PowerPoint, but afterwards I realized it was a mistake, since I didn't take notes like I should have. Once I got used to it, it actually made note-taking easier for my other classes.