Taking notes

[RFHawks]

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A little background: I start at U of MN TC this fall. I read the laptops thread already and did a search. I need to get a new laptop for school and am leaning towards a MBP. However, I like to hand write notes on lecture slides using symbols, arrows, and different colors for different types of notes.

I realize that printing up all the lecture slides is going to be a pain, not to mention carrying around many full 3-ring binders.

My question is this: is there a way to take the kind of notes I like on slides without toting around colored pens and printing all the lectures? I'm not really tech savvy so any input would be appreciated. On the other thread people mentioned a tablet with a stylus, however I do need a new computer and many posted that tablets like the iPad don't stand up to a laptop.

The ideal device would be a laptop with a built-in stylus pad and some sort of software allowing me to view and write on the lecture slides with an easy interface for switching colors.

 

[Isoprop]

A tablet laptop with MS OneNote.

 

[RFHawks]

Has anyone used circus ponies notebook for taking notes during lecture?

 

[AquaFortis]

I wasn't a huge fan of Circus Ponies Notebook. It was too stiff of a program for what I wanted.

I've actually started just using Mac's Preview to take notes on the pdf's for our classes. I just merge them together and have my entire note set in one (huge) file. I like it pretty well. Saves me printer ink/money anyway.

 

[Alvarez13]

A tablet laptop with MS OneNote.

I use this program religiously and feel that it is under-utilized in my class. I do ebooks too and it's so easy to cut/paste all over the place. Love it 😀

 

[thechad]

I realize that printing up all the lecture slides is going to be a pain, not to mention carrying around many full 3-ring binders.

Since you will have access to the powerpoints used in class, why not just open them up on your laptop and type your notes in that awesome little text field at the bottom called, "Notes." ???

If you really want to spend a bunch of money on a stylus and pad, you are more than welcome to do so, but it's totally superfluous.

 

[RFHawks]

Since you will have access to the powerpoints used in class, why not just open them up on your laptop and type your notes in that awesome little text field at the bottom called, "Notes." ???

If you really want to spend a bunch of money on a stylus and pad, you are more than welcome to do so, but it's totally superfluous.

I commit things better to memory when I write them. Plus I like to write directly on the slides. this and some profs will only make their slides available as a pdf. I looked through the laptop thread again and did some more research and this looks exactly like what I am looking for:
iPad + Capacitive iPad Styra + Noterize (or Upad or curious ponies)

 

[MossPoh]

I use this program religiously and feel that it is under-utilized in my class. I do ebooks too and it's so easy to cut/paste all over the place. Love it 😀

I stopped using it after it crashed and lost all of my notes for 3 months.

 

[JokerMD]

asdf

 

[Dr Oops]

A tablet laptop with MS OneNote.

👍

best combo. I like to write my notes too.

 

[Fleur de Me]

I commit things better to memory when I write them. Plus I like to write directly on the slides. this and some profs will only make their slides available as a pdf. I looked through the laptop thread again and did some more research and this looks exactly like what I am looking for:
iPad + Capacitive iPad Styra + Noterize (or Upad or curious ponies)

I use the iPad+Noterize and my life has been revolutionized. I used to type notes, but then had to go back and rewatch the lectures to make sense out of all of it. I tried printing slides and writing on them, but then I wasted a lot of paper and had tons and tons of crap to go through.

Seriously consider this option- I have all of my notes and slides with me everywhere I go. And because I write on the slides with my own handwriting, I get much more out of the lectures and notes.

 

[nlax30]

We had a few kids with PC tablets, but as the first two years went on I think they actually utilized the tablet functionality less and less.

Personally I'd just get whichever laptop you want, like the MBP, and then wait until you get going in school and see what you actually need. From there you can get a digitizer pad (though that's just something else to carry around and setup using up desk space) OR you may find that you actual don't take the amount or sort of notes you thought you might in med school and it becomes a moot point anyway.

I went in thinking I'd just continue on like I did in undergrad and do the organized handwritten notes thing, but it just didn't work. Too much info coming at you too fast that is kind of already condensed down so beyond the habit of actually taking notes I didn't get much out of it.

By the time 2nd year came around the most I was doing was occasionally highlighting my textbook and writing in short/quick notes in my review books. For the powerpoint lectures we did have I just typed in the notes section, and again I found myself doing that less and less as time went on.

 

[CurrySpice]

I stopped using it after it crashed and lost all of my notes for 3 months.

+1

Just glad I learned that lesson in undergrad where I only had ~30 pages of Chemistry notes. That would be heart-attack worthy in med school...

If I end up using my tablet for vet school, I will make 100% sure to backup my notes every night on an external hard drive. I will ALSO make sure that I have another computer (or school computer) capable of reading OneNote files. I had my chem notes on a flash, but none of the school computers would read a OneNote file and none of my friends had OneNote. You are supposed to be able to print them as PDFs but that functionality didn't work for me with the stylus-written notes.

 

[bad virus]

Stupid question, but OP do you actually prefer taking notes or just reading material instead of attending lectures?

I ask because I didn't take a single note in school and relied mainly on reading text books and scribbling in random notebooks to reinforce the ideas. I found most of the school prepared lectures to be useless and much more error prone in comparison with text books.

So if you don't like taking notes, you might just consider getting a net book with a gajjillion hour battery life.

Sorry for the side tracking and good luck with starting school.

 

[RFHawks]

I actually prefer attending lectures and taking notes. I find that I am more efficient with my time this way since I read slow and take a lot of time to digest what I am reading. That being said, I still like texts to have on hand for supplemental information.

The other reason is that (in my experience) tests were written using the profs lectures and very few questions came from assigned readings that weren't in the lectures. So for most of my classes, I didn't read all of the assigned readings and still got As in my classes.

From what I've heard, tests in my future school are based on lecture notes mostly, and many students only bought one or two texts their whole first year.

 

[nlax30]

.

 

[RFHawks]

Thanks Mr. Kwitt! Really helpful post! It's great to see people like you join SDN. We definitely don't have enough Spamalamadingdongs here. BTW, what do I need to do get a NYC pass? Can I just give you my credit card info now? 🙄 Lame

 

[gravitywave]

+1

Just glad I learned that lesson in undergrad where I only had ~30 pages of Chemistry notes. That would be heart-attack worthy in med school...

If I end up using my tablet for vet school, I will make 100% sure to backup my notes every night on an external hard drive. I will ALSO make sure that I have another computer (or school computer) capable of reading OneNote files. I had my chem notes on a flash, but none of the school computers would read a OneNote file and none of my friends had OneNote. You are supposed to be able to print them as PDFs but that functionality didn't work for me with the stylus-written notes.

embrace the cloud, baby

 

[akay00]

I was wondering if someone could first tell me the difference between microsofts's onenote and mac's noterize.

I would like to be able to import power point lecture slides and record the prof's lectures, keeping them in sync. That way, if there was a particular slide I was confused about, i will be able to go back quickly to the point in the lecture. Otherwise, i think recording lecture will be entirely useless.

Even tho i have never been a big note taker.. i was thinking that using a computer to type my notes would prob be beneficial to me because im a lefty and my hand writing is horrible. Only concern is that typing your notes may not allow things to sink in as well...then again, will it sink in at all during lecture time? I havent started med school yet..

I don't have a MAC.. so was hoping I could make onenote work. In fact, I don't even have onenote currently, so havent been able to fiddle with it..

suggestions/thoughts/comments appreciated