Tablet for note taking?

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chickensoupdr

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It seems like a lot of people use tablets for note taking. I've never used a tablet for class before, and I was wondering what current med students' opinions on tablets were. Do you ever feel like taking notes with a stylus lags or isn't as precise as you'd like it to be? Do you use the stylus more than the keyboard in class? Any recommendations on tablet models (or hydrids, as I'm considering that option, too) would be helpful.
 
I personally used an iPad4 + iAnnotate to take notes. I would download lecture slides and use a keyboard to take notes. I felt like the stylus was too inaccurate for writing and only good for basic gestures. The majority of my setup was basically iPad4 + Keyboard + iAnnotate. Most of the rest of the students used the same setup, perhaps with a different app (Notability). Some people used laptops, but it depends if you have access to an outlet and how long your battery life lasts.

I would honestly prefer a laptop, which is why I am looking into the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, because it has so much more ability. Ask what students use at your school. Paper notes, by the way, don't work. Way too much stuff to write down.
 
Almost everyone in my class that got a tablet to take notes in class bought an external keyboard for it. There's only one person I know who actually uses a stylus to write and they have a program that takes your writing and makes it neat. Otherwise it looks very sloppy and is difficult to read. There are a few kids with a touchscreen laptop but that seems like an expensive gimmick. I would just go with any old laptop that can run powerpoint, firefox and word.
 
I would go for a touchscreen Chromebook. It will cost you anywhere from 250 to 350 USD. Well the touch part is not really necessary, but I just like to feel the screen responding to my fingertips. Feels natural.

Chromebooks have great offline capabilities, as well. You can do all your writing offline with no hassles. You could also organize your notes on Google Drive and be able to access them from any device. I don't know but I feel that writing notes on a tablet, even with a keyboard case, is cumbersome business. I haven't tried it though.

Chromebooks typically have 7 to 10 hours of battery life.
 
I am looking closely at a 256 GB i5 or i7 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 as a full replacement for my 4-year old Macbook pro. Any current students with Surfaces able to chime in? I heard OneNote was really good for note-taking.
 
We all have iPads. I use notability with a stylus. But my writing is ridiculously neat.
 
If you're writing down so much that only typing can allow you to keep up either a) you're writing down too much or b) the notes your school gives you aren't very good (sorry if you're in this latter group). You can be very accurate and precise when using a stylus to write on an iPad; I do it every day. The zoom feature on apps like Notability or GoodNotes allows you to write very cleanly in very small margins on the page.

If you are someone who typed their notes in college (and many biology majors are), then you'll probably feel most comfortable continuing to type your notes in med school. On the other hand, if you previously liked pen and paper, I would give a tablet/stylus a try. It may take a little getting used to, but it'll be very hard to go back once you realize how amazing searchable PDFs are and how nice it is to have all of your notes from all of your classes in one place.
 
Our entire class was given iPads and everyone bought both keyboards and stylii (correct plural?). Most people just defaulted to typing their notes after while. I tried the stylus and didn't buy a keyboard and found it hard to keep up writing it in the PP margins. Eventually I just gave up on taking notes in class as we had 4 hours of back-to-back lectures everyday which made it really hard to concentrate after the first two lectures, especially later in the week. I found being at home, rewatching the lectures and typing on my computer was best for me.
 
I just picked up an iPad Mini with a Bluetooth keyboard and absolutely LOVE IT. I've had a couple of tablets before - both a full-sized iPad and a Nexus 7 - and have never enjoyed using a tablet as much as I do now. The dedicated, physical keyboard is an absolute game-changer. It's certainly not a complete desktop/laptop replacement, but for most basic use cases I can see how you can get by with a tablet and external keyboard. The keyboard really is the critical part of the mix IMO, though. Without it tablets are just too difficult to use beyond basic web surfing or quick e-mail responses - the on-screen keyboards totally blow for any amount of on-screen typing.
 
I love that you ask this question as I love this techie stuff. Ok, carry on.
tabletpc.jpg
 
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Can't live without my Surface pro.......
 
Galaxy Note 8 inch tablet works great for me. It has a digitized stylus so you get none of that lag and it writes as precisely as it would if you were writing pen on paper. They came out with a new line of Galaxy Notes and they're quite pricey, but if you could find the older version its still really good and worth the value! You can download an app off the Play Store called Lecture Notes, with it you can important any .pdf file (such as lecture notes) and use it to annotate the notes via stylus or key board. It lets you write in different colours, thicknesses, etc. I personally love it and recommend it to anyone looking for this.
 
I have a Thinkpad Helix, which has a detachable tablet (where most of the hardware is located). It's a little glitchy, so I might get an updated one/another brand. But it really has been amazing!! I take only the tablet to class most days and write my notes. Using OneNote you can copy all your powerpoints/lecture syllabi/other readings/pdfs (whatever!) into the program and write notes directly on them. I find that handwriting notes helps me a lot to really learn the info as I go, as opposed to typing. With OneNote, as opposed to iPads, you don't have to zoom in to write- it writes JUST like paper. (I believe it is similar to the above post with the digital stylus). It is really amazing. You can lean your hand down on the screen for support and everything without problems. I would highly recommend this. It is extremely interactive with the touchscreen and you can screen capture and paste into OneNote as well, which is feature I use all the time!
 
To those who are reporting successful handwritten notetaking on the iPad, how small is your handwriting? My handwriting is Walter Benjamin-tiny, and I've had no luck finding a stylus that feels natural in my cramped hand. I'm seriously considering grabbing a Wacom tablet since they're designed for artists, but I live in an Apple world electronically.
 
DrCharlemagne said:
To those who are reporting successful handwritten notetaking on the iPad, how small is your handwriting? My handwriting is Walter Benjamin-tiny, and I've had no luck finding a stylus that feels natural in my cramped hand. I'm seriously considering grabbing a Wacom tablet since they're designed for artists, but I live in an Apple world electronically.
Click to expand...
I use the Adonit Jot Pro with my iPad and that works really well
 
NickNaylor said:
Looks interesting, but isn't that plastic tip thing irritating?
Click to expand...

I have a jot touch pro with an ipad as well. Surprisingly no. Writing feel pretty organic with one exception: I have to keep my fingers off the shortcut buttons. Otherwise it will keep disconnecting and reconnecting, which interrupts the fluidity of the writing.
 
DrCharlemagne said:
To those who are reporting successful handwritten notetaking on the iPad, how small is your handwriting? My handwriting is Walter Benjamin-tiny, and I've had no luck finding a stylus that feels natural in my cramped hand. I'm seriously considering grabbing a Wacom tablet since they're designed for artists, but I live in an Apple world electronically.
Click to expand...

Try the Lynktec Rechargable Apex Stylus. It has a similar fine point to the Adonit jot pro, but the tip is rubber instead of plastic, so it doesn't make much noise when it touches the screen. It doesn't connect through Bluetooth, so no enhanced palm rejection (only available on a handful of apps anyways), but that also means there is no problems with disconnection.
 
MrDoctorman said:
I am looking closely at a 256 GB i5 or i7 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 as a full replacement for my 4-year old Macbook pro. Any current students with Surfaces able to chime in? I heard OneNote was really good for note-taking.
Click to expand...


I am in the same situation

Have a four year old MacBook Pro

Looking to get the base level surface pro 3 and then a MacBook Pro 15 retina refurbed.

The writing experience on the pro and ability to. Annotate is exceptional!

It's a bit spendy but I won't be upgrading again for a long time.

I love the one note and pen but I do not like windows as much....
 
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