Do you use a labtop for lectures?

[Star3124]

I was considering switching to a laptop for school, its seems like all the rage now. The only problem is, I like drawing diagrams and things like that as supplementary, thats not quite as convient on a laptop though.

So, my second option was getting one of those tablet pc's, the ones you can write right on the screen. It seems quite cool, and would be able to do everything a notebook/pen can do except better, more organized (and cooler ).

So, for you med students out there is getting a laptop/tablet useful or is it going to just end up sitting in the room after awhile?

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[da8s0859q]

I was considering switching to a laptop for school, its seems like all the rage now. The only problem is, I like drawing diagrams and thinks like that as supplementary, thats not quite as convient on a laptop though.

So, my second option was getting one of those tablet pc's, the ones you can write right on the screen. It seems quite cool, and would be able to do everything a notebook/pen can do except better, more organized (and cooler ).

So, for you med students out there is getting a laptop/tablet useful or is it going to just end up sitting in the room after awhile?

Get a tablet with a 30-day return policy and try it. See if it's for you.

Myself, I tried a laptop. Returned the thing shortly after getting it; for me, I like having a spiral I can throw around and such.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I was considering switching to a laptop for school, its seems like all the rage now. The only problem is, I like drawing diagrams and thinks like that as supplementary, thats not quite as convient on a laptop though.

So, my second option was getting one of those tablet pc's, the ones you can write right on the screen. It seems quite cool, and would be able to do everything a notebook/pen can do except better, more organized (and cooler ).

So, for you med students out there is getting a laptop/tablet useful or is it going to just end up sitting in the room after awhile?

Most of the people I know who tried those ended up not using the tablet much - because its just not convenient to go back and forth from typing to writing and you end up just writing everything which is just like paper so there's no point.

I didn't have a tablet just a normal laptop but I had to stop bringing it because I was spending more time in my email and on the internet than I was paying attention to lecture...did more harm than good.

 

[nascardoc]

I've been using a tablet for my lectures and I absolutely love it!!! It has never been easier taking notes. The only thing I have to bring with me to lectures is the computer...bo binders, notebooks, pens, pencils, folders. etc. You can either take notes directly on the powerpoint slide, or you can use a program called Microsoft OneNote, which is amazing. It is extremely organized and flexible, and makes finding info much easier than a notebook b/c it is searchable. So when you're studying and can across something you can't remember, all you do is type in the word and OneNote will bring you to any part of your notes that contains that specific word. You can also tag definitions, important items, etc and search for those as well. All of your powerpoint slides, docs, pdf's, etc. can be put into OneNote so you can take notes and highlight on those as well. Plus, it automatically saves every 30 seconds (something you can't do in powerpoint) as well and setup automatic backup saving to the same hard drive, a flash/jump drive, external hard drive, etc.

Writing on the tablet is very simple...just like regular pen and paper. You can draw anything you want and organize any way you want as well. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend getting a tablet b/c it makes things so easy. We use a Gateway model, which is really nice. The only complaint I have is that it is a bit heavy, but luckily we're not holding them.....yet. I can tell you, without a doubt, that you will not regret getting a tablet. Make sure you get high specs on the computer, an extended replacement warranty, a large flash/jump drive for backing up, as well as an external hard drive. You want a couple of things to back up with in case something goes wrong.....you don't wanna lose your notes. Plus, I would grab a couple of extra stylus pens as well, just in case you lose one or it breaks. Better safe than sorry. Yeah, it is expensive, but it is worth every penny and will pay itself off very quickly.

 

[Star3124]

I've been using a tablet for my lectures and I absolutely love it!!! It has never been easier taking notes. The only thing I have to bring with me to lectures is the computer...bo binders, notebooks, pens, pencils, folders. etc. You can either take notes directly on the powerpoint slide, or you can use a program called Microsoft OneNote, which is amazing. It is extremely organized and flexible, and makes finding info much easier than a notebook b/c it is searchable. So when you're studying and can across something you can't remember, all you do is type in the word and OneNote will bring you to any part of your notes that contains that specific word. You can also tag definitions, important items, etc and search for those as well. All of your powerpoint slides, docs, pdf's, etc. can be put into OneNote so you can take notes and highlight on those as well. Plus, it automatically saves every 30 seconds (something you can't do in powerpoint) as well and setup automatic backup saving to the same hard drive, a flash/jump drive, external hard drive, etc.

Writing on the tablet is very simple...just like regular pen and paper. You can draw anything you want and organize any way you want as well. I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend getting a tablet b/c it makes things so easy. We use a Gateway model, which is really nice. The only complaint I have is that it is a bit heavy, but luckily we're not holding them.....yet. I can tell you, without a doubt, that you will not regret getting a tablet. Make sure you get high specs on the computer, an extended replacement warranty, a large flash/jump drive for backing up, as well as an external hard drive. You want a couple of things to back up with in case something goes wrong.....you don't wanna lose your notes. Plus, I would grab a couple of extra stylus pens as well, just in case you lose one or it breaks. Better safe than sorry. Yeah, it is expensive, but it is worth every penny and will pay itself off very quickly.

Haha, ya that sounds pretty sweet, and I've definitly heard alot of good things about onenote. Like residents just going to their labtop, typing in a keyyword, and a definition or a question can be found easily. I've been looking at the Toshiba portege m700 tablet, it's 1700 in the U.S, but I live in Canada and they jack the price up to 2200 (before taxes) and charge like 20% import/customs/border tax if you buy out of the country. Geez they rip us off over here.

Although I do agree with Alwaysanangel that it could get potentially distracting. I sit behind all the laptop people in class and 6 of 10 of them are on facebook! haha...hopefully I have more selfcontrol.

 

[brianmartin]

would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend getting a tablet b/c it makes things so easy. We use a Gateway model, which is really nice. The only complaint I have is that it is a bit heavy, but luckily we're not holding them.....yet. I can tell you, without a doubt, that you will not regret getting a tablet. Make sure you get high specs on the computer, an extended replacement warranty, a large flash/jump drive for backing up, as well as an external hard drive.

Dude you should work at Best Buy!

I say forget the high specs. I want no hard drive, just flash. No larger than a sheet of paper. Like they have on Star Trek. Once technology gets to that point, I'll start using one.

 

[scotties123]

heres a crazy thought. use ur labtop for typing and have a notebook and pen ready for diagrams. its been workin fine for me for 4 years.

 

[armybound]

I saved myself $1,000 and just bought a notebook and pen. the batteries never died, I didn't have to worry about it being stolen, and I didn't have to worry about scratching it up.

pretty good deal.

 

[Auron]

for undergrad it seems unnecessary. In med school you're provided notes, and theirs usually a lot of powerpoints etc making a laptop essentially required.

 

[meliora27]

I've tried taking notes a few times using my laptop in class and have found I'm more effective and able to retain the information much more effectively when I use a spiral notebook and a pen. The only exceptions where I think having my laptop with me in class is when the professor is lecturing from a powerpoint presentation and the presentation was posted online ahead of class. With a laptop you can follow along with the slides and "edit" them to incorporate your own notes into the slides (although this can easily be done with a $0.10 Bic pen. The other situation is in lab settings where the professor is going over slides that have been posted online, having a laptop, I like to be able to copy and paste the slide image from a website into a Word document and with arrows and text boxes, diagram and label all of the structures that the professor goes over. This too however can be accomplished with the aforementioned pen, however my handwriting is atrocious.

 

[RySerr21]

heres a crazy thought. use ur labtop for typing and have a notebook and pen ready for diagrams. its been workin fine for me for 4 years.

amen. thats what i've been doin for the classes that have lecture notes and some diagrams (like anatomy and physiology). other than i type notes on my lap top b/c i have probably the worst hand writing known to man and i also type a lot faster than i write so it enables me to make better notes.

 

[EMH]

Here's the rough break down of my M1 class. (the ones who go to class at least)

40% have laptops
25% have macs
15% have tablets (and I'd say only half them use the tablet feature)
20% take hand written notes.

It's interesting that in our M2 class maybe 40% of them have tablets.

I bought a tablet and don't use the tablet feature even though I tried using it, I can just type so much faster. Then again I just use the canned notes and sleep in now anyways.

 

[blahwhatever]

Get a tablet with a 30-day return policy and try it. See if it's for you.

Myself, I tried a laptop. Returned the thing shortly after getting it; for me, I like having a spiral I can throw around and such.

If you decide to take this poster's advice, make sure you go with a place that won't charge you 15% restocking fee upon returning the item. I know Circuit City definitely does it.

 

[nevercold]

YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL MAY REQUIRE YOU TO PURCHASE A LAPTOP THROUGH THEM WHEN YOU MATRICULATE.

Sorry for the caps, didn't people want to skip over that point. Several med schools, for precisely the reasons mentioned by others (powerpoint lectures, other software, etc), require all students to buy a laptop so they make one standard that you get through the school as a part of tuition/fees and all that mumbo jumbo. Check with the schools to see about this before buying something else on your own, because they won't just let you use what you bought in place of the laptop they want you to have (for one b/c of software they license and put on the laptop and two b/c of issues with HIPPA and privacy). It can be both beneficial and a distraction (and sometimes the distraction part is the true benefit).

It's also easy to draw diagrams on a laptop if you play around with the drawing features in the Microsoft Office suite programs or Microsoft Paint. A full version of Adobe Acrobat lets you draw freehand on .pdf files as well.

 

[futuredrcrawfor]

I use my laptop as an undergrad- no tablet though...
I always carry a folder with paper just in case and keep it handy as some teacher randomly want you to write something out to turn it.

I love my laptop and type notes (I use one-notes) and pull in all the supplemental things you need...

downside- I didn't backup notes and last spring my hard-drive crashed 3 days before finals- I was screwed! Fortunately notes for 2 classes were shared with friends so they emailed me them back. But Genetics notes were lost and I ended up with a B in there after a whirlwind study weekend. Other classes were easy so I just re-did review sheets and spent the extra few hours getting ready.

 

[nlax30]

I used my laptop a lot in undergrad, but not really for taking notes. In class if I took notes I would just do it by hand since it did involve a lot of drawing and stuff I just couldn't do since I don't have a tablet. Or I'd print out the powerpoint slides and just write on them. But mostly in undergrad I'd use the laptop for email, looking up stuff, typing up reports, etc.... since it was my main computer and I liked to study in different places.

In med they'll probably require that you have a laptop and if I do take notes I'll usually download the powerpoint slides, put them into OneNote and then just type/annotate the slides like I'd do if I just printed them out. OneNote is pretty cool, basically works like a virtual binder, though it is a little more useful if you're using it on a tablet.

I don't take many notes anyway, as I'm mostly just reading and then just referring back to any powerpoint/pdf/other notes I may have on the laptop. We're strictly PBL here so I don't have tons and tons of lectures and outlines on the basic sciences, mostly just for any minicourses we have or personal notes.

 

[myKuduSlewaZulu]

Like someone above said, some schools require laptops, and a lot of those require you to use the one they select or at least their specifications. Make sure you check on that before you buy. I don't use a laptop....never really could justify the expense, partly because I already had a desktop. Most people I've seen in class don't use one in lecture. Its more popular to just take notes on the scribes. Most of the ones who do use a laptop are just surfin' or playing games. I'm not sure why they don't just stay home and use their desktop/console...those would seem quite a bit more productive at such tasks.

 

[Star3124]

Ya, I see all of your points. The one about some schools requiring you to buy a specific labtop is a good one. I guess I've come to the conclusion that I'll stick with good old penand paper for now, and maybe buy a tablet this summer. The price for tablets are exceptionally more exspensive than a regular labtop, so I'm waiting for the one I got my eye on to maybe go down a bit. I might not use the tablet feature as much as I think, but haha I just think its so cool (I'm a bit of a technology nerd).

I noticed that some of the laptops in a canada are like 20% more than the U.S ones though( desipte our dollars being eqaul at the moment). The tablet I want is like 400$ more over here, and if you order from outside canada yuour charged like a freakish amount of money in customs/border tax.

Haha, i'm to cheap to dish out that xtra cash so I think I'll wait when I go on vacation over there this summer and just buy it and bring back with me.

 

[PleaseBelieveit]

Hey a bit of advice for finding the best deals if you are looking for a tablet, or if you are looking for anything expensive....If you use dealnews.com (there are other websites that do the same thing) it monitors all of the major department stores and other smaller online stores and tells you where the best deal is..I bought my TV this way..You would be surprised how much prices can vary between stores...I remember for my TV was at Circuit City for 900 dollars more than what I wound up paying for it..If you find a tablet you really like just find out the model number and type it into the website and you can see all of the different prices for it..

 

[shotdiscus]

downside- I didn't backup notes and last spring my hard-drive crashed 3 days before finals- I was screwed! Fortunately notes for 2 classes were shared with friends so they emailed me them back. But Genetics notes were lost and I ended up with a B in there after a whirlwind study weekend. Other classes were easy so I just re-did review sheets and spent the extra few hours getting ready.

If you just email yourself the file after every class you'd never have to worry about that

 

[TheRach1025]

Most of my classes use PPT slides so a laptop should be helpful. They're now selling ultraportable laptops for less than $500. Two good examples are the Asus Eee (~$400) and the upcoming (2/15) Everex Cloudbook (~$400 also). They both run on Linux but can run all necessary Word Processing software. They're both around 2 lbs and can easily fit into a bag. The only problem is the keyboards look uncomfortably small. Then again I don't plan on writing 10 page reports on the thing.

 

[skyeblue0610]

Oy, this is going to be a problem for me. I have to actually LEARN how to type I type just fine but nowhere near fast enough to keep up in lectures. I keep mine at home right now. And when I do type fast I misspell every other word and the red line under misspelled words drives me crazy so I always have to do word check right away.

 

[Timmythemic22]

+

 

[shotdiscus]

Oy, this is going to be a problem for me. I have to actually LEARN how to type I type just fine but nowhere near fast enough to keep up in lectures. I keep mine at home right now. And when I do type fast I misspell every other word and the red line under misspelled words drives me crazy so I always have to do word check right away.

There are plenty of free programs/sites that have typing programs. Google "touch typing"

 

[spo01]

don't your hands start hurting after typing so long? carpal tunnel etc. mine ache all the time when i type my notes. i wish they didn't bc my handwriting is absolutely awful.

 

[skyeblue0610]

There are plenty of free programs/sites that have typing programs. Google "touch typing"

Thanks, that helped

don't your hands start hurting after typing so long? carpal tunnel etc. mine ache all the time when i type my notes. i wish they didn't bc my handwriting is absolutely awful.

My hand hurts after a while of writing notes. I tend to grip my pen tight when writing fast to where my hand starts to shake noticeable so I have to stop for a few minutes

 

[Quadratic]

I'm guessing my school is the only one that uploads lecture notes available for print....

 

[skyeblue0610]

I'm guessing my school is the only one that uploads lecture notes available for print....

I think alot of them do. So people probably just want to type them as a summary in class and have both. That's what I would do