How do you guys take notes, specific to laptop

Started by Spirit of the Student Doc
BU Medical Sciences
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So, I might open up a word doc and simply type everything a teacher says in class. Then I'll come back and build a second word doc that includes the previous notes plus info from elsewhere, books or whatever else is needed. Afterwards, I'll add my own review questions and print the whole thing off.

I can just come back to it for a cumulative final or even far later if I need it for some reason.

My laptop of choice is the S-50, but only due to price. Cost me about $700 (with a sale at the time), with add ons of i7 processor, 8gb memory, 1 tb hard drive, backlit keyboard, a mouse, and upgraded wireless LAN and bluetooth.
 
With PowerPoint lectures, I like to type in things the instructor discusses that aren't on the slide right underneath in the notes section of each slide. It's worked thus for me, especially since I hate printing out PowerPoint lectures.
 
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I used to pull up the power points and take notes in the bottom section of the power point on my laptop. If I had unlimited ink and paper I would just print everything 2 to a page and take notes by hand around the slides. I retain it much better that way. Plus I like being able to flip through pages like a book. I also like paperback books vs iPads/kindles.
 
alexlex143 said:
With PowerPoint lectures, I like to type in things the instructor discusses that aren't on the slide right underneath in the notes section of each slide. It's worked thus for me, especially since I hate printing out PowerPoint lectures.
Click to expand...

I would do 3 slides a page with those lines next to each box and yes that was awesome.

Yet, this only works for professors who supply these ahead of time.
 
So, I'm very much in the handwritten notes category, but having them on the laptop/iPad to go everywhere is a must. Depending on the class I might print out slides or lecture notes and add to them during class. I have this really sweet, really fast, two sided document scanner and afterwards the notes get scanned to the computer so I can review anywhere I need to. Works really well for me. It's nice on busy weeks to be able to review stuff on my iPad while I'm on my lunch break at work or whatever.

I also have a program I'm still learning/playing with that makes handwritten notes searchable, so you can find stuff more easily later in a whole huge mass of notes and other documents.
 
Spirit of the Student Doc said:
That's tough. But those who persist at it seem to become some of the best!
Click to expand...
Last research I looked at found it to be 7 times more effective at encouraging memory retention than lecture alone, while digital note-taking was only slightly more effective than lecture alone. Likely has something to do with the fact that both hemispheres of your brain are actively engaged, as are most of your senses.
 
I like taking notes by hand and I feel like I retain things better that way, but it is not always feasible for me. My bio lecture right now has so many slides and such a breakneck speed that I can't keep up by hand, but I can on my laptop. What I am doing is loading my slides into OneNote and taking notes on top of them or in another column to the side. Then for review I'll try to pull out some main concepts/definitions/whatever and make a handwritten study guide. I'm pretty happy with this right now but I seem to change my mind a lot based on what I think is "best." In the event that I do take handwritten notes I almost always end up typing them up later so that they are searchable and more easily organized.
 
In undergrad, print slides out 3 to a page with lines next to the slides. Both hemispheres of the brain, very fast to flip between slides, visual organization ("i remember that formula is on the middle left of that one page...").

In medical school, the fire department (and greenpeace) would never allow you to keep that much paper in your house. iPads work great, until you realize you need even more time to study so you stop going to class altogether.
 
I take notes by hand. I have much better recall that way vs typing. Usually well enough where I don't even have to go back and look at my notes. Can't say the same for typing my notes.
 
In addition to taking notes, some of my friends use voice dictation apps so they can quickly find anything they missed.
 
I love hand taking notes but like many said its not always possible. I LOVE that I can pull the PowerPoint up on my tablet so I just take that everywhere with me and if there's something not on the PP I just write it down in my notebook and add it to the slide later. I tried the laptop for a bit but I end up lagging behind because I try to indent and subtex it too much so I stopped :/
 
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I find the teacher's talk too fast for me to take notes by hand. I type in the space under the powerpoint slide. Last semester I then filled a notebook with concepts that were harder so that there was faster access for studying. That was ok. But I have a huge stack of notebooks and binders from one semester. I don't think that's sustainable. This semester I'm making anki flashcards instead. My grades are better. I'm not sure though if that's just the difference in material. A lot of my classmates use OneNote. That looks really good too. I've considered it but haven't tried it.

I think you need to try a couple methods and find out what works best for you. That's what I'm using first year for. Second year is supposed to be a lot harder. I want to have my best study strategy figured out by then.
 
I take notes directly onto Supermemo flash cards. Keeps everything neat, organized, takes up no space and you have everything from every class right at your fingertips, easy to review information, easy to search through, I can cut/paste diagrams from the powerpoint slides, faster than handwriting notes, etc. The only "notes" I take during class are just reminders that I need to investigate certain topics more thoroughly if I didn't quite follow something from lecture.
 
As others have said - the notes section in Powerpoint during lectures or podcasts. My med school had an "Objectives" word document for each lecture. After reviewing the lecture in the afternoon I would use the objectives as a worksheet and answer all of the objectives for the day by memory or by briefly reviewing the relevant class material if needed prior to recall by memory. In the morning I would review the objectives. This gets the "3 hits in 24 hours" for increased retention.

One other requirement is to have a good desktop search tool (e.g. I used google desktop search and also Copernicus desktop searh) This lets me make connections between material as the year goes on (e.g. "I remember vaguely something about paragonimus a couple of modules ago...what was it again...<desktop search> Oh yeah -- now I remember!").

While taking notes by hand has a romantic je ne sais qois about it, the ability to quickly index and search lots of material quickly is a huge advantage in mastering the material. There is nothing more frustrating IMHO than knowing that I have great notes about a topic somewhere in a huge pile of written notes. Also most of us in this day and age can type much faster than we can write, which is advantageous as well.

One other item I did was to create study materials suitable for Step 1/2 during specific modules. If the study materials are good enough quality then it is much easier to recall when you come back to the topic for board studying. The act of making the study materials (e.g. I essentially wrote a pathology review book -- around 400 pages with images, table of contents, index, etc...) is great for long term retention. As an added bonus, I still use my own study guides for quickly reviewing material even in residency.

Good luck.

- chooks
 
I would like to get one of those super small laptops to be able to bring to class but I just dont think i type fast enough....hmm maybe I should practice. Also I am absolutely in love with handwritten note-taking. I feel like i actively can visualize my note vs. computer note taking my eyes tend to wander and the background details cloud the memory of what was actually typed. I will say that after my undergrad years, i just knew I would develop a permanent hand cramp from writing. But I use both effectively. If powerpoints are supplied by the prof, I take notes under the slide in the notes section, (however it does depend on how closely they stick to the slides, if they dont really use the slides to stay on topic, I wont use the powerpoint notes). But if the prof isnt big on PP slides then its and old fashioned notebook for me. But I use tabs and highlighting to mark info. I also draw pics in the margins to help with retention or make up clever ways to remember things.
 
KaBoom'd said:
Surface pro 3 and Onenote. It'll change your life.
Click to expand...

+1. In addition to having the benefits of hand-writing/drawing your notes during class, it's useful to be able to pull additional images from the internet, link the PowerPoint directly to your notes, and record the audio from lectures. Last semester I had all my textbooks on my Surface as well due to how much I was traveling around. It was very convenient to have everything I need available on one light-weight device.

OneNote w/ stylus > pen & paper > typing
 
I have a couple of questions about taking notes on a computer - I've never taken a laptop to class. I'm mostly worried about trees but also want to hand write because I retain more that way.
-Do you get eye strain from studying from a screen so much?
-Is a 12/13" screen harder to work from than a 15"? I know I can get an external monitor but is the size difference noticeable? Pro's & con's?
-Is the SP3 the only device with an active digitizer? Are there other options that will search your handwritten (stylus) notes?
Thanks!
 
Chimichica said:
I would like to get one of those super small laptops to be able to bring to class but I just dont think i type fast enough....
Click to expand...

I bought the new XPS13 recently. The keyboard is a just a bit smaller, and I definitely notice a difference in my typing speed compared to a full size keyboard on a desk.
 
cbarne01 said:
-Is a 12/13" screen harder to work from than a 15"? I know I can get an external monitor but is the size difference noticeable? Pro's & con's?
Click to expand...

Between work and home I use multiple screen sizes within a week. My work laptop is 17", my work external monitors are 24" and my personal laptop is 13.3". When I first started working on the 13" I thought it was insanely small and had a hard time working from it. Ive gotten used to it for the most part, but logistically it an be tough for some programs (particularly those with lots of toolbars and side bars (mostly video and photoediting). If I need multiple programs (example: reading from a pdf, typing in word) I'd say I'm 30-40% less productive on the 13" compared to the 24", but thats likely just having less real estate. I plan to get a external monitor at home, i figure the idea of a laptop is to be portable not a productivity beast alone.

hope that helps
 
Hailstorm said:
Active digitizer + one note = best of both worlds
Click to expand...
I just returned my SP3, I was getting nasssssty wavy lines, (mostly on the diagonals) which seems to be a major issue with a lot of people, which made ochem almost impossible on it

I generally load the slides into either onenote or notability, then make notes on the slides either on the iPad or surface. I'm potentially gonna downgrade to a surface 3 because it appears the problem is better

FileDownloadHandler.ashx
 
Let's see - well I put my fingers on the keys and do something called "type" and then magically words appear on my computer screen!
 
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Fine, I'll clarify. Does anyone hand write or do you all type? Do you keep only soft copies or do you print your slides? I'm trying to decide on a system to save trees. I learn by writing out by hand.
-Do I need a laptop that I can write on slides with a stylus or if I should print and annotate with pen?
-Will summaries/study guides from those be most useful by hand or typed?
What other methods should I consider?
 
cbarne01 said:
Fine, I'll clarify. Does anyone hand write or do you all type? Do you keep only soft copies or do you print your slides? I'm trying to decide on a system to save trees. I learn by writing out by hand.
-Do I need a laptop that I can write on slides with a stylus or if I should print and annotate with pen?
-Will summaries/study guides from those be most useful by hand or typed?
What other methods should I consider?
Click to expand...


I'm not in med school yet, but as noted above I learn better by handwriting on the note packs or slides. Then I have an awesome, super fast document scanner so I have my notes on the go. I also have a data basing program that can add keyword tags to notes for easy searching and can supposedly search handwritten text. Only tried the handwriting search a few times. Seemed to work ok. The trick to handwriting notes is to either fill in slides or if you don't have slides, don't try to transcribe things word for word.
 
I prefer handwriting my notes-

I'll divide a page into two columns, write very concise notes in the right column often in shorthand, then after I read lecture slides I'll go back and re-write my notes on the left column as clean as possible without any shorthand. I'll read over them fairly often and highlight what seems to be important/what I'm struggling with.
 
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