Note taking on computer

[dr_of_rock]

Hello everyone. I start school in the fall and am trying to be prepared as possible. I have a quick question. I've read about people who make condensed notes or an outline of lecture. I was wondering if you make a separate document for every lecture, or keep a running document for the entire class? I'm trying to figure out the best way to organize my notes. Thanks!

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[radian313]

Hello everyone. I start school in the fall and am trying to be prepared as possible. I have a quick question. I've read about people who make condensed notes or an outline of lecture. I was wondering if you make a separate document for every lecture, or keep a running document for the entire class? I'm trying to figure out the best way to organize my notes. Thanks!

People in my class use the class issues tablet/laptop hybrid and use one note. It keeps everything as electronic binders and books.

I personally use my iPad and annotate my slides. I follow objectives, and meet with my group to discuss them. I hate memorizing slides, I like to discuss them and hence if I do an outline it sort of makes me memorize them which does almost nothing when it comes to applying them on exams.

 

[Mr Roboto]

@AlteredScale please close duplicate thread

 

[dr_of_rock]

Just wanted to get opinions from both allopathic and osteopathic students. Trying to reach everybody.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

started off with typed notes and hates it, then moved onto paper notes and didn't like it either. i find that tablet annotations work the best for be.

 

[Ioannes Paulus]

started off with typed notes and hates it, then moved onto paper notes and didn't like it either. i find that tablet annotations work the best for be.

which size iPad do you use?

 

[Carbon090]

I use a mix of computer and writing notes. I write down stuff that doesn't stick well, I type stuff to keep myself focused.

 

[KP2AZ]

eventually pretty much everyone switches over to Electronic...whether it be Laptop + Tablet, or a 2-in-one like a Surface Pro (love mine). I personally was a huge believer in printing out lecture slides...and that lasted roughly a month. I switched to the Surface Pro because it was as close to feeling like the printed version as I could get...plus its nice having a full Operating System on my note taking devise. If you want, get an external Monitor to hook up when you get home so you have 2 screens- they are relatively inexpensive, and 2 screens is pretty handy for having slides up, and typed notes up at the same time (dual screen on a laptop or tablet gets old real fast).
-hope that helps

 

[DrPatriot]

eventually pretty much everyone switches over to Electronic...whether it be Laptop + Tablet, or a 2-in-one like a Surface Pro (love mine). I personally was a huge believer in printing out lecture slides...and that lasted roughly a month. I switched to the Surface Pro because it was as close to feeling like the printed version as I could get...plus its nice having a full Operating System on my note taking devise. If you want, get an external Monitor to hook up when you get home so you have 2 screens- they are relatively inexpensive, and 2 screens is pretty handy for having slides up, and typed notes up at the same time (dual screen on a laptop or tablet gets old real fast).
-hope that helps

I do the exact same thing with my Surface Pro 4 and I love it. Usually annotate everything in Drawboard and then put all my notes, handouts, charts etc. into OneNote for organization. I was a big paper and pen guy so the surface is the absolute best choice for me!

I do everything by exam not the whole course at once. OneNote is really nice for organizing everything.

 

[AltMentStat]

I do the exact same thing with my Surface Pro 4 and I love it. Usually annotate everything in Drawboard and then put all my notes, handouts, charts etc. into OneNote for organization. I was a big paper and pen guy so the surface is the absolute best choice for me!

I do everything by exam not the whole course at once. OneNote is really nice for organizing everything.

Why are you using drawboard instead of onenote for the annotations?

 

[DrPatriot]

Why are you using drawboard instead of onenote for the annotations?

OneNote was crashing too much with our coursepacks at the time when I made the switch and Drawboard is just purely an annotation app so I like it much better for classroom annotation!

Sent from my XT1650 using SDN mobile

 

[KP2AZ]

OneNote was crashing too much with our coursepacks at the time when I made the switch and Drawboard is just purely an annotation app so I like it much better for classroom annotation!

Agreed! I'm all about Drawboard too for annotations. One Note was great, but it just used a lot of memory.

Sent from my XT1650 using SDN mobile

 

[DrPatriot]

Why are you using drawboard instead of onenote for the annotations?

I also had OneNote crash and delete all of my notes the night before a biochemistry exam .

I like that Drawboard just saves the files as a PDF and I make copies onto an external hard drive for insurance.

I didn't think I would like Drawboard but now that I have the hang of it, I love it! Won't be going back.

Sent from my XT1650 using SDN mobile

 

[Hershalmike555]

I prefer hand notes. No problem if you can save them onto your computer.

 

[Mr. D.O.five]

I love using OneNote for lecture material. Input as PDF handout and annotate through the slides at will. I also use it or recording lectures. I also only use OneNote for laptop computer.
For Tablets, I like using notability since it's very user-friendly and I am able to take good notes and input files and images into specific areas I want.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

which size iPad do you use?

surface 3. great value and productivity.

 

[KP2AZ]

surface 3. great value and productivity.

Couldn't agree more

 

[Mr Roboto]

I also had OneNote crash and delete all of my notes the night before a biochemistry exam .

I like that Drawboard just saves the files as a PDF and I make copies onto an external hard drive for insurance.

I didn't think I would like Drawboard but now that I have the hang of it, I love it! Won't be going back.

Sent from my XT1650 using SDN mobile

Doesn't OneNote require a cloud backup? Or it deleted the cloud version and your local copy?

 

[popopopop]

Do you guys print your notes after annotating them or do you study the notes purely electronically?

 

[popopopop]

eventually pretty much everyone switches over to Electronic...whether it be Laptop + Tablet, or a 2-in-one like a Surface Pro (love mine). I personally was a huge believer in printing out lecture slides...and that lasted roughly a month. I switched to the Surface Pro because it was as close to feeling like the printed version as I could get...plus its nice having a full Operating System on my note taking devise. If you want, get an external Monitor to hook up when you get home so you have 2 screens- they are relatively inexpensive, and 2 screens is pretty handy for having slides up, and typed notes up at the same time (dual screen on a laptop or tablet gets old real fast).
-hope that helps

I'm a huge believer in printing out slides and annotating them too. What made you make the switch? Is it that the volume of information is just too great to keep track of in med school? I know some of the lectures can get to 100+ slides!

 

[AltMentStat]

I'm a huge believer in printing out slides and annotating them too. What made you make the switch? Is it that the volume of information is just too great to keep track of in med school? I know some of the lectures can get to 100+ slides!

I'll sometimes print some summary notes but generally I don't print things. It is just too much to try and keep up with all the printouts. Also, having my notes in OneNote lets me quickly search for information if needed throughout all of the powerpoints and notes I have taken for the class.

A few of my classmates print out everything. They also carry massive binders of printouts everywhere they go. They'll have some major somatic dysfunctions in their lumbar spine in no time.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

do print outs if thats your thing. I personlly dont believe it to be sustainable

 

[IslandStyle808]

I'm a huge believer in printing out slides and annotating them too. What made you make the switch? Is it that the volume of information is just too great to keep track of in med school? I know some of the lectures can get to 100+ slides!

There are a lot of reasons why.

1) Speed of finding powerpoints. I just use the slides as is and use the search feature to find them. Of course, there are better ways to organize notes.
2) Losing powerpoints. You wouldn't want to lose a lecture with all your hand written notes, because it can be pretty easy to lose track of them due to the sheer amount of lectures you have.
3) Having to replace paper and ink constantly. This can be a time and money sink, and both are bad in medical school.

There are other reasons, but those are the top three that come to mind.

 

[KP2AZ]

I'm a huge believer in printing out slides and annotating them too. What made you make the switch? Is it that the volume of information is just too great to keep track of in med school? I know some of the lectures can get to 100+ slides!

Try printing it out for a little while and see how you feel. Personally I got to the point where prep work got too time intensive and I realized that I could use that prep time to study...or work out...or decompress for a little while. You will find what works best for you- just don't be afraid to try changing or minimally tweak some of your study habits.