Tablet PC or just old fashion pen and paper??

[jacst3r]

Has anyone used tablet/touch screen laptop to take notes during lecture?

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[twester]

Has anyone used tablet/touch screen laptop to take notes during lecture?

I have a Toshiba Portege convertible PC. I'm in my second semester of using it. I absolutely love it. I used pen and paper during my first year of pharmacy school and went through four reams of paper and that was with some fancy printing tricks. Last semester, the first with the tablet, I used about 20 pages. Big difference...

I am nearly 100% paperless. Most of our lecture notes are in Powerpoint or .pdf format and I just "print" them over to Microsoft OneNote. In that program, I have one folder for the semester with different tabs for each class and the notes get their own section divided by exam. I take notes directly on the slide image. Occasionally, I get a paper handout. I just scan it in and send it over to OneNote then recycle the paper. OneNote is unique in that it automatically saves the image every few seconds so I've only lost a small amount of notes once (when I was using Microsoft Journal which is a piece of ****). I have an external hard drive and do a backup every week.

I also have Dipiro and the Handbook of Non-prescription Drugs on it (both books have a digital edition as a bonus of purchase). I download and save the .pdf files for various treatment guidelines in a special directory. And my school's library makes many electronic books available online. My PC is literally a 4.5-lb library that goes everywhere with me.

Guess you've figured out that I like the tablet. There was a learning curve and lots of experimentation, but I've finally figured out how to make it work for me. Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[mike36]

I'm thinking about going paperless next year. For most of our classes, we have to print out the lecture slides ourselves and it's getting expensive. I think a laptop would also save me a lot of room in my backpack.

 

[amartins02]

I had one in a while ago. Didn't use it as often in undergrad. Also it was used so it was older and laggy. But, I just bought the HP tz2000z and its coming in a few days. Nice tablet for the money. Also there is the Gateway 141xl that is coming out on the 14th of Feb. They make nice tablets also.

Some of my slides come in pdf and others are in power point that the school makes us by from a printer. I swear that the printer must be related to some higher up there and is cashing in. Why would you make students pay for printed packets of power point slides?

But yea, I do the same thing and print them into Onenote. I also record the lecture while taking notes. Its all synchronized so if I didn't understand a certain section it plays what the professor was saying at the time I wrote it. That way I can fill in. Its a lifesaver.

 

[CaliCPhT]

My husband is in IT sales and uses the HP touch screen notebook computer. It comes with a stylus and has handwriting recognition capability. I can copy what you write on it as it was written or convert to text. I think it rocks. it's fairly lightweight, though a bit expensive. My son's doctor also uses a touch screen computer for his charting. So far, this has been the coolest use of a touch screen that I've seen. The screen rotates around so that you can close it on the keyboard part and write only on that. I say, if you have the money, go for it!

 

[jacst3r]

thanks guys! I used to take notes in pen in school and rewrite them onto the computer which has been a hassle. havent found any good option as far as taking notes on powerpoint is concerned. since most lectures are on powerpoint, i think a tablet might be ideal. i'm gonna treat myself a tablet pc if i get into pharm school this year!

so when you are reviewing your notes for an exam, do you just read them off your computer screen? how effective is that?

 

[mike36]

thanks guys! I used to take notes in pen in school and rewrite them onto the computer which has been a hassle. havent found any good option as far as taking notes on powerpoint is concerned. since most lectures are on powerpoint, i think a tablet might be ideal. i'm gonna treat myself a tablet pc if i get into pharm school this year!

so when you are reviewing your notes for an exam, do you just read them off your computer screen? how effective is that?

I'm wondering this too. It seems like your eyes would hurt after a while. The main reason I would get a laptop would be to decrease paper, but if I have to print everything out to study it anyway it will be kinda pointless.

 

[twester]

thanks guys! I used to take notes in pen in school and rewrite them onto the computer which has been a hassle. havent found any good option as far as taking notes on powerpoint is concerned. since most lectures are on powerpoint, i think a tablet might be ideal. i'm gonna treat myself a tablet pc if i get into pharm school this year!

so when you are reviewing your notes for an exam, do you just read them off your computer screen? how effective is that?

I keep the PC in tablet configuration when I study and just read the screen like I would a piece of paper. It took some getting used to and I sometimes have to adjust my seating or the lighting to cut back on the glare (you can buy anti-glare films, I haven't yet). I haven't noticed any eye strain.

I should note that I'm a note-taker while I study. I couldn't work it out that I read my electronic notes and used another window to write the notes, so I ended up going back to notebook paper and pen for my hand-written study guides. That solution has worked out pretty well.

 

[jacst3r]

I should note that I'm a note-taker while I study. I couldn't work it out that I read my electronic notes and used another window to write the notes, so I ended up going back to notebook paper and pen for my hand-written study guides. That solution has worked out pretty well.[/QUOTE]

Have you tried creating an extended desktop with an extra LCD screen (dual display mode)? maybe you can read your notes on a stand alone LCD screen and take notes on your laptop screen? I think i will be watching a lot of lecture videos so I plan on getting an external screen so I can take notes while watching the videos.

 

[Quiksilver]

Personally, i type my notes on my computer; i do not use a stylus, just plain ol' word notebook. Its great, i am able to type the important points in the slide, keep up with the prof is saying. It really is ideal. Then later i am able to go back and edit them (better then re-writing notes) so going over class notes effectively does not take the time it used to.

 

[Krismeese]

I also use a tablet and use pretty much the same strategy as Twester mentioned. It has worked very well for classes that have electronic/online course materials available and has pretty much cut out all of the printing I used to do.

The only downside I have noticed is it takes a little bit more effort to start studying when you have to pull out the computer, plug it in, and load it up, rather than just pulling out a binder, but that is a an issue I am willing to deal with.

 

[fungikid]

I'm thinking of buying a tablet also, but how do you guys resist the temptation to MSN/YouTube/e-mail/surf the web while studying?

 

[terse]

do most of your guys' classmates use tablet pcs also? or are most still going with good ol' pen and paper?

 

[twester]

do most of your guys' classmates use tablet pcs also? or are most still going with good ol' pen and paper?

I thinks there are only two of us in my class.

 

[McZyprexalynn]

I have a Fujitsu T4220 which I have been using since the beginning of the semester. I love it. I use pretty much the same system as tweester. I was the only one to have a tablet at the beginning and now one of my friends went out and bought the same one I have. We're the only two in my class to use them, but I would recommend them to everyone if you have the money (they're more expensive than a typical laptop).

All of my profs have their notes/handouts in either Word or PowerPoint, but they have the bookstore on campus print off their Power Point slides/note outlines and then the bookstore sells them. I did have two professors (one class) refuse to give out an electronic copy of the contents of this packet, so we've been scanning them in which is kind of a pain in the ***. The rest of my classmates carry around two or more 3 inch binders and my tablet is far smaller and lighter than that (which having been recently diagnosed with a spinal condition, I'm glad for).

I do study right off the screen most of the time. As long as the screen brightness is adjusted properly, I don't have too much of a problem with eye strain. I downloaded a free program called NetBuddy to make flash cards. I do make hand written study sheets too, but that only takes me a few sheets of paper. It's also awesome when studying because Microsoft OneNote has a search feature, so if I'm looking for the section on whatever, I can just search instead of flipping through pages and pages of notes. The temptation to wander off to something else on the Internet is high, but then again, I had that problem even when I was doing pen and paper note taking. You can always turn off your Internet connection for a while.

I did some pretty extensive research before purchasing, and Fujitsu came out at the top. One of the major pluses for me is that it has a "Modular Bay" where you can slide in another battery. I get up to 6-8 hours of battery time. You can also put a CD/DVD drive or an additional hard drive in this slot (and they are easily interchangeable). At the time I purchased mine, NewEgg had the best prices. For best handwriting capabilities, make sure you get something with Wacom. I know some of the Gateway and HP models were still using older technology last fall, though they may have upgraded by now.

 

[Epic]

I have Wacom Pen Tablet...does that count?

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

I have Wacom Pen Tablet...does that count?

What for? Photoshop? No wonder your pics always look so perty

 

[RX CARE]

I have an M400 just like twester......except for the fact that I am actually 100% paperless...... the only possible downside is that a couple of classmates of mine's computers crashed sequentially....so my trust in this toshiba is kinda shaky. Besides that, it's really great....having every stationery on microsoft one note......courses,sections,pages,subpages...all in one program....writing on power points and word documents. It's pretty easy and workable....as long as u know how to organize files....

 

[LordOfTheDance]

I know a guy with the HP touch screen laptop w stylus and it is very nice.... but really how many notes do you really need to take if you are given the lecture notes to bring to the lecture ahead of time? If you are one of those people that must write everything the prof says then you should prob save a tree and get a tablet compy.

Cheers

 

[LordOfTheDance]

Ooo that fujitsu tablet is bad@$$. I would probably actually take notes if I had that

 

[littlealex]

Do you guys recommend getting a tablet over a standard laptop?
I mean, I could take notes in Onenote with a regular laptop as well. Is the ability to write on the screen worth the extra cash?

 

[twester]

Do you guys recommend getting a tablet over a standard laptop?
I mean, I could take notes in Onenote with a regular laptop as well. Is the ability to write on the screen worth the extra cash?

I think it depends on what kind of notes you take and how you use them later. For me, I do a lot of highlighting and draw some things. My notes are really more about the physical act of writing information and the images that my notes turn into (visual and tactile learner here). For me, typing notes is just dictation - in one ear and out the other. My style isn't possible without a tablet (or pen and paper), someone else might do just as well with a standard laptop.

 

[Lurkerkat]

Do you guys recommend getting a tablet over a standard laptop?
I mean, I could take notes in Onenote with a regular laptop as well. Is the ability to write on the screen worth the extra cash?

I use a normal laptop in class and for most classes I can just type my notes but for some I have to print out the notes since there's more drawing of molecules and such.

With PowerPoint I use the notes section for each slide and use underlining and bolding to highlight key points. If a professor is distributing their notes in PDF format the full version of Adobe Acrobat is a godsend. I find that the mark-up/review tools are great for taking notes.

In the end it depends on how you learn. For me I can bypass actually writing things as long as I review my notes after class. Also since I type much faster than I can write I find myself able to focus better on what the professor is saying.