iPad at a Osteopathic school?

[hmainn]

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Who here is taking an iPad to an osteopathic med school this fall?
A few DO schools have nice programs integrating the curriculum to be iPad friendly (as do allopathic schools).

Now that there is reason for this not to be moved, here is the rest..
I just ordered an iPad and have been looking around for styluses.
It looks like it's difficult to write precisely with the rubber tipped ones. And the Dagi and Jot styluses leave scratches according to Amazon reviews.

Here is the DIY solution.
http://tumblr.kinglau.co/post/6442455519/ipadstylusdiy

Watch the vid on the blog and be amazed. Have yet to try, but from the comments, it looks like it works well. I thought I was going to only jot a few notes down and type the rest in med school, but this opens up some nice possibilities 🙂

Thought I'd post it on the DO forums, so we can attract newcomers to this side of the forums as well 😉

 

[tide11189]

I will be taking my iPad to school this fall and there are a few apps I am excited to use. Notability is a great app and works well for PDF annotation and note taking. I also bought the Belkin stylus to use on it which works pretty well but has its negatives. Also evernote is another great app to have for note taking. I would also suggest getting a dropbox account because it saves tremendously on your storage space.

 

[Hemorrage]

i'm still in undergrad but i use notability to take both text AND handwritten notes using a stylus. Make sure to also get goodreader for reading PDF's, its very very good at it. Additionally, get a dropbox account for storing all of your files. This way you can interact between your computer and ipad

 

[FrkyBgStok]

i plan on using my ipad as a portable study item. I don't plan on decking it out with everything I have because I will have a laptop and everything i need, but when I am waiting for my daughter to come out of dance, or watching my kids swim or come out of school, all of these times where I am going to have 5-30 minutes to study, but no more, I will bust out the ipad.

 

[drgioiadds]

I will be using paper and pens.

 

[HalfListic]

Just to throw in my opinion...iPad is great in school for study and notes. I used it in my undergrad a ton and I'll bring it to med school as well.

I like the pogo sketch stylus the best, very smooth and quick to write.

I'm also pretty happy with iCloud so far, which gives me all of my notes and papers, etc accessibility on my iPad, computer or phone.

 

[shaggybill]

I usually write pretty small when I take notes. Is there a good way for me to be able to use a stylus on an iPad or PC tablet to write notes on top of/within Powerpoint lectures?

 

[GTP]

Got the iPad In December and it has made my life exponentially easier. 70% of my class has one

 

[tide11189]

I usually write pretty small when I take notes. Is there a good way for me to be able to use a stylus on an iPad or PC tablet to write notes on top of/within Powerpoint lectures?

Notability or iannotate are good apps for that.

 

[ViciousKicks]

I just picked up an iPad for school. People ahead of me at my school have recommended the Wacom Bamboo stylus. They say it is worth the money and it doesn't miss much when handwriting notes. For that task I've been told that penultimate and iAnnotate are essential. I've purchased them and really like both. Better, I love how seamlessly iAnnotate syncs with Safari and Dropbox. I've used Evernote on my MacBook for wedding planning for several months and have no doubt that it will come in handy for organization in school.

I've had a blast going through Netters in iAnnotate, and couldn't reccomend it more highly myself.

 

[Telekinesis]

What's the best stylus to write with on the iPad

 

[hmainn]

What's the best stylus to write with on the iPad

Follow the link in the original post. I think the DIY one may be the best since it glides easily and is accurate. The other stylus' seem to miss here and there.
Once I make one, I will update with my thoughts.

 

[EyeHeart]

My school specifically says they don't support iPod so rather than risking it, I use the traditional laptop

 

[shaggybill]

My school specifically says they don't support iPod so rather than risking it, I use the traditional laptop

Same for my school, but >75% of the students use Apple products anyway since the software works just fine. The only hitch is if something goes wrong with your macbook or ipad, the school's IT team won't fix it. You'd have to take it to an Apple store.

 

[NeuroLAX]

Same for my school, but >75% of the students use Apple products anyway since the software works just fine. The only hitch is if something goes wrong with your macbook or ipad, the school's IT team won't fix it. You'd have to take it to an Apple store.

Or an iHospital. I've seen more of those popping up recently.

 

[shaggybill]

Or an iHospital. I've seen more of those popping up recently.

I wasn't sure if you were being serious so I googled it, saw that there are indeed such things as iHospitals, and now my day is made! 👍

 

[NeuroLAX]

I wasn't sure if you were being serious so I googled it, saw that there are indeed such things as iHospitals, and now my day is made! 👍

A malfunctioning Apple product is no joking matter! 😉 Getting to an Apple store is hard enough as it is, depending on where you live.

 

[mkhuc]

The iPad's capacitive screen is not the best for stylus use. I have an iPad, AND a tablet PC. What I found was after 2 months of experimenting with both during lectures is that it was too cumbersome for me. I switched back to paper and pen/highlighter and my study workflow optimized greatly. In med school, you don't have too much time to experiment, so go with what saves you the most time.

The problems I was having were similar to the problems found here in this video:
http://youtu.be/1CwJcpzJ4oo

 

[NeuroLAX]

The iPad's capacitive screen is not the best for stylus use. I have an iPad, AND a tablet PC. What I found was after 2 months of experimenting with both during lectures is that it was too cumbersome for me. I switched back to paper and pen/highlighter and my study workflow optimized greatly. In med school, you don't have too much time to experiment, so go with what saves you the most time.

The problems I was having were similar to the problems found here in this video:
http://youtu.be/1CwJcpzJ4oo

Yikes! Judging by that video, I would not be able to study by going back through the slides to see what I wrote. The guy was struggling to keep up the entire time! Looks like I will have to just reserve my iPad for leisure medical reading and recreation.

 

[Ravizzle]

I use an Android tablet for my undergrad currently. Its called the Asus transformer prime. Its pretty cool its a thin sleek tablet and then it "transforms" into a laptop/NetBook by docking to a full keyboard that also gives you usb port and double battery.

So its great for typing notes, and you can also draw diagrams too. Then detach the tablet from dock and use to play games, read ebooks, etc..

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

 

[NeuroLAX]

I use an Android tablet for my undergrad currently. Its called the Asus transformer prime. Its pretty cool its a thin sleek tablet and then it "transforms" into a laptop/NetBook by docking to a full keyboard that also gives you usb port and double battery.

So its great for typing notes, and you can also draw diagrams too. Then detach the tablet from dock and use to play games, read ebooks, etc..

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

I have something similar. It is the Lenovo Ideapad S10-3t. I'm trying to sell it though since I bought an iPad.

 

[DavetheMD]

iPad is near useless for handwritten notes. Unless you're annotating the easiest class in the world. What it does excel at, is being a convenient way to carry a library of e-books. I recommend PDF expert for that purpose.

 

[Ravizzle]

I have something similar. It is the Lenovo Ideapad S10-3t. I'm trying to sell it though since I bought an iPad.

Yea its kind of similar except it doesn't swivel off, it physically detaches. The screen is full capacitive, and the os is Android so it is instant wake like ios. Also with the dock attached you get 16 hours of continuous use battery life and over a week of standby. So i can take it to campus without a charger and it easily lasts me all day

If u have an ipad u can get a Bluetooth keyboard, my friend uses one that is built for iPad and it makes it really easy to take notes as well. Only downside is that since it uses Bluetooth it will consume more battery, but iPad will still last a full school day

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

 

[CopToEM]

I think there's something to be said for the fact that most of us spent 22+ years of our lives reading, writing, and learning from paper with the use of a pencil. I truly believe that trying to change that up, especially at one of the most intellectually challenging times of our lives, makes little sense.

So many people cite "difficulty reading from a screen" as a reason for not sticking with the iPad or not reading from e-books on a monitor. However, most read 2x that amount of information a week on websites, etc. Rather, I believe that it's just not something most people are comfortable with doing when it's truly time to sit down and learn. eBooks on the iPad makes a lot of sense, especially at med school prices, so I may reconsider it as a reader.

The two biggest issues I had when I took my step into iPad notetaking land during undergrad was a) the clumsiness of dragging an editing box around a digital piece of paper to write in a single line and b) the reliance on a battery (which commonly dies) and digital stability (which commonly corrupted notebook files). I spent an entire day once working on an in-depth study guide for Organic only to have penultimate completely **** on itself and corrupt the file. Unless there's a freak fire or wind storm my pen and paper is safe and sound. Result: Sold my iPad on Facebook.

DCOM gives us convertible tablet PCs (Lenovo Thinkpads) so we'll see how that works out in Round 2. I'll report back.

 

[Ravizzle]

I think there's something to be said for the fact that most of us spent 22+ years of our lives reading, writing, and learning from paper with the use of a pencil. I truly believe that trying to change that up, especially at one of the most intellectually challenging times of our lives, makes little sense.

So many people cite "difficulty reading from a screen" as a reason for not sticking with the iPad or not reading from e-books on a monitor. However, most read 2x that amount of information a week on websites, etc. Rather, I believe that it's just not something most people are comfortable with doing when it's truly time to sit down and learn. eBooks on the iPad makes a lot of sense, especially at med school prices, so I may reconsider it as a reader.

The two biggest issues I had when I took my step into iPad notetaking land during undergrad was a) the clumsiness of dragging an editing box around a digital piece of paper to write in a single line and b) the reliance on a battery (which commonly dies) and digital stability (which commonly corrupted notebook files). I spent an entire day once working on an in-depth study guide for Organic only to have penultimate completely **** on itself and corrupt the file. Unless there's a freak fire or wind storm my pen and paper is safe and sound. Result: Sold my iPad on Facebook.

DCOM gives us convertible tablet PCs (Lenovo Thinkpads) so we'll see how that works out in Round 2. I'll report back.

You are right in the sense that ultimately we are most comfortable with pen and paper. For Ochem and other classes where its all figures and structures the usefulness if paper is unbeatable.

However in most of my other undergrad classes the teachers use powerpoint and give us pdf lecture handouts, so the convenience of annotating pdfs, and not having to organize 200+ pages of notes over a semester is really useful.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

 

[mkhuc]

One thing that I use my iPad for is the Thieme Anatomy Atlas by Modality. It is THE best tool for learning anatomy other than getting hands deep in a cadaver.

 

[Fox800]

TCOM will be issuing iPads along with laptops. Can't wait to get mine!


UNTHSC-TCOM Class of 2016

 

[SymphonyNo4]

The iPad's capacitive screen is not the best for stylus use. I have an iPad, AND a tablet PC. What I found was after 2 months of experimenting with both during lectures is that it was too cumbersome for me. I switched back to paper and pen/highlighter and my study workflow optimized greatly. In med school, you don't have too much time to experiment, so go with what saves you the most time.

The problems I was having were similar to the problems found here in this video:
http://youtu.be/1CwJcpzJ4oo

To be fair - that guy was clearly unpracticed and completely new to the software. he was also using an app (iannotate) that's not the best for how he is trying to use it.

I use mine extensively, and it's become a notebook replacement. If he imported the slides into an actual hand writing app like goodnotes (one of the most fluid handwriting apps I've used), he would of been essentially even with what the girl was using. It would of allowed him to write directly on the slide smoothly and without the annotation popups of iannotate...the handwriting engine of dedicated handwriting apps like goodnotes is steps ahead of what iannotate offers as well.

For me iannotate is more the reading through textbooks app, as it allows tabbed browsing (I have three textbooks open and generally switch between them instantaneously via tabs), highlighting, notes, word search, underlining, etc etc etc.

It's strength is not quick lecture notes, more so the studying, marking up your textbook with notes tasks.

Handwriting apps (goodnotes, note taker hd, remarks, etc) is what he should of used.

I really hope if schools hand these out to students, they atleast inform them of how to use them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[mkhuc]

To be fair - that guy was clearly unpracticed and completely new to the software. he was also using an app (iannotate) that's not the best for how he is trying to use it.

I use mine extensively, and it's become a notebook replacement. If he imported the slides into an actual hand writing app like goodnotes (one of the most fluid handwriting apps I've used), he would of been essentially even with what the girl was using. It would of allowed him to write directly on the slide smoothly and without the annotation popups of iannotate...the handwriting engine of dedicated handwriting apps like goodnotes is steps ahead of what iannotate offers as well.

For me iannotate is more the reading through textbooks app, as it allows tabbed browsing (I have three textbooks open and generally switch between them instantaneously via tabs), highlighting, notes, word search, underlining, etc etc etc.

It's strength is not quick lecture notes, more so the studying, marking up your textbook with notes tasks.

Handwriting apps (goodnotes, note taker hd, remarks, etc) is what he should of used.

I really hope if schools hand these out to students, they atleast inform them of how to use them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Agreed.

My advice for those who want to use an iPad for Medical School is to practice using it before school starts. You don't want to be troubleshooting while balancing your studying during the school year. You won't have enough time.

Get used to the workflow of annotating and also saving your files in a place where it can be readily accessible. I suggest a cloud solution like Dropbox.

 

[Contagi0n]

I used my iPad 2 for note taking over the past year and found myself transitioning back to typing notes on my macbook. However, this was due to the fact that (in my opinion) there wasn't a great note taking app (tried SoundNote). This might change though if the rumors are true that Microsoft Office will be coming out for the iPad in November. I would love to try out their 2011 Note taking version!

Pros: Great e-reader, great educational apps like TED talks, Blackboard, etc, it's prezzi compatible, the battery life is amazing, recording...


Source: http://9to5mac.com/2012/05/31/report-microsoft-office-for-ipad-launching-on-november-10/

 

[shaggybill]

I've been doing some research and I think I've found what I'm looking for.

An Asus Eee Slate w/ Windows 7 and the digitized pen allows for fine-print notetaking directly onto the powerpoint slides, which can then be saved as separate files.

 

[SymphonyNo4]

I've been doing some research and I think I've found what I'm looking for.

An Asus Eee Slate w/ Windows 7 and the digitized pen allows for fine-print notetaking directly onto the powerpoint slides, which can then be saved as separate files.

The iPad allows that.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Ravizzle]

The iPad allows that.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I think he means the fine print writing. The slates have active digitizers so they can detect very thin stylus, and also differentiate the amount of pressure that is applied. These are fool computers so they can run actual full Microsoft office.

The downside of these is that these slates tend to be bulkier, heavier, and don't have as great battery life.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

 

[SymphonyNo4]

I think he means the fine print writing. The slates have active digitizers so they can detect very thin stylus, and also differentiate the amount of pressure that is applied. These are fool computers so they can run actual full Microsoft office.

The downside of these is that these slates tend to be bulkier, heavier, and don't have as great battery life.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

Many handwriting apps do zoom in writing - you're presented with a sheet of ruled paper on screen, and a zoomed in box magnifies the line. The engines are getting better, and some like remarks acknowledge pressure better than others. But its a smooth and fluid writing experience.

Capacitive touch screens need bigger tipped styluses, so you're stuck with 6-8mm tips or so, but if what you're after is "fine print writing" - the iPad DOES allow it.

YouTube Noteshelf or goodnotes.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[NatVsNur]

lunatik Touch Alloy

 

[shaggybill]

Many handwriting apps do zoom in writing - you're presented with a sheet of ruled paper on screen, and a zoomed in box magnifies the line. The engines are getting better, and some like remarks acknowledge pressure better than others. But its a smooth and fluid writing experience.

Capacitive touch screens need bigger tipped styluses, so you're stuck with 6-8mm tips or so, but if what you're after is "fine print writing" - the iPad DOES allow it.

I want to be able to write directly onto Powerpoint slides on the tablet during lectures, not onto "ruled paper" like you would with regular notes. And I need to be able to write pretty small, so the fine tip is a must. Everything I've been looking at on YouTube makes it appear that both writing on PP slides AND writing with fine-print are not easily feasible on the iPad.

 

[cliquesh]

There are also UsmleWorld and Kaplan Q bank apps. It has been pretty life changing.

 

[NeuroLAX]

I want to be able to write directly onto Powerpoint slides on the tablet during lectures, not onto "ruled paper" like you would with regular notes. And I need to be able to write pretty small, so the fine tip is a must. Everything I've been looking at on YouTube makes it appear that both writing on PP slides AND writing with fine-print are not easily feasible on the iPad.

I was skeptical about the quality of on-screen writing with any tablet, but this video seems to show that it is definitely possible. As the youtube video that was posted in this thread demonstrated, the guy got fed up with the poor quality of the writing on the iPad within the PowerPoint and resorted to typing. Even though it looked much better, it took too long in my opinion, especially if the professor is going through the slides quickly. I hope your Asus tablet will allow you to print on PowerPoint as well as the video shows with the note taking app. It looks a TON better than the iPad.

Even though I own an iPad, I'm still not 100% sold with the iPad + stylus and will probably continue to write directly on printed lecture slides. We'll see, though.

 

[SymphonyNo4]

I want to be able to write directly onto Powerpoint slides on the tablet during lectures, not onto "ruled paper" like you would with regular notes. And I need to be able to write pretty small, so the fine tip is a must. Everything I've been looking at on YouTube makes it appear that both writing on PP slides AND writing with fine-print are not easily feasible on the iPad.

As I've said before - yes, it is possible to write directly on power points like you would if you had printed them out. Many programs allow you to import your own files and write on it.

All you need is for the instructor to provide the file online, then you can download it and work directly on it.

You can write very small with the zoomed in window box. If you watch Noteshelf or goodnotes YouTube video, you should see some people using the zoomed in writing window. You can do that with PDFs, power points, etc..at least with goodnotes, which is what I use.

Personally, I'm an undergrad and for the a&p lecture I'm about to attend I have all the powerpoints loaded in goodnotes, as well as a handout summary of each chapter he passed out in class scanned (taken picture of via the iPads camera). I could fill out the handouts with the iPad and print them to study, etc etc.

I usually write with the zoomed in box window, and then can zoom out a little more (ie, instead of one single line magnified to maybe an inch tall on screen, there are 4 lines or so), for any diagrams I need to draw.

You could also write directly on the paper (or power point ) without the window box. It gives you a wrist guard so you can rest your hand on the screen....but the zoomed in window allows much more control and is more organized...

Anyway, here's a video showing the window zoomed in about half way through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q26RvPvZcrU&sns=em