Hi, RazorDoc. What do you think is the best note-taking method for classes at Mizzou... good old pen and paper or sitting in classes with a laptop?
I never used a laptop in undergrad, but I read some good points on the forums here. For instance, some laptop (I don't know what a tablet is, maybe they said tablet) allows you to write on the PPs and circle things while in class so you don't have to print them. But the thing is that I usually study best when I can sit and read notes or hard copies of PPs rather than a computer screen. Plus I re-write notes and write extra notes in the margins of existing notes. I'm just not sold on the idea that you absolutely must have a laptop/tablet/whatever for studying. I have a fast computer at home so I'm not sure I would need any more than that.
What do you think?
Thanks so much!
Hello there,
First of all, the difference between a tablet and a laptop just FYI. A tablet actually has a screen that rotates 180 degrees and folds down so that you can write on it with this special pen like a notebook. A laptop is just any other smaller computer that does not have a rotatable screen and is not able to be written on. (if that's unclear, here's a regular laptop:
http://blog.loaz.com/media/blogs/timwang/mini-Laptop-Sony-Vaio-Vgn.jpg and here is a tablet:
http://www.small-laptops.com/images/l/lenovo-thinkpad-x61-tablet.jpg) For the purposes of vet school (and since you said you have a pretty good computer at home), I don't see any reason to buy a laptop. A tablet though comes in very handy.
Second, the best method of note-taking is whatever works best for you. So if it's a laptop/tablet or pen & paper, it doesn't really matter. No one says that tablets are the only way to go, so if you'd rather start out without one, it's not a big deal. Personally, I have found that my best technique is to take all my notes on my tablet, and then re-write my notes on a notepad later when I have time to really analyze what the heck some of it means. Here are some of the pros and cons:
Tablet - Pros:
-All my notes since vet school started in one location that does not take up my entire room
-You don't ever use up your print quota (if you print all the notes from school, you'll probably use it up within the first couple of weeks or so, and the remainder will be an extra cost to you)
-No lost notes! (a biggie for me, as I tend to lose paper versions of things)
-OneNote (see below) is a really easy way to organize your notes AND it's searchable. For instance, say a teacher brings up Tetralogy of Fallot and I am sitting there wondering what all the components of that were, I could just type that in and hit enter and it searches all my "notebooks" for those keywords and takes me right to the page.
Tablet - Cons:
-Not the easiest way to study, but that kind of depends on your style
-Most of use Microsoft OneNote to take our notes, so that is an additional expense
-The OneNote files are HUGE! I just used up most of my space, so I just had to buy 500Gb of extra storage for about $160ish
So, in conclusion, is a tablet an absolute must? NO (probably 50-75% don't use a laptop/tablet in my class)
Do I recommend one? Maybe, I've gotten a lot of use out of mine so it's been great for me
Let me know if I can be of any more help!