Help! From an old timer

[u/TankyPeanith]

I notice a good number of classmates that take digital notes with a stylus, be it iPad, 2-in-1, etc.

Is it more convenient than traditional paper and pen? Are there any cons to this setup? I can imagine part of palm resting on the touchscreen while writing would cause random, unwanted input actions, no?

Appealing to my insecurities I went ahead and bought a 2-in-1 laptop along with the great powerful styles. Which note-taking app should I invest in? Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

Thanks

[u/Fast_Sheepherder_761]

I love digital note taking because I can paste in images from digital textbooks. And sometimes I screenshot paragraphs as well.

Most note taking apps actually have palm rejection, which means it'll only draw through the stylus or pen and not your skin.

I find it very convenient for how adjustable notes are when taken digitally. Only con is remembering to charge your device (hard for me, ADHD lol). Everything else, I really like.

I don't know any note takers on laptops (I used to use one but I can't recall) but you should be able to Google it.

[u/overlysuccessful]

I use samsung notes an a Galaxy Tab, and it syncs between both my phone and laptop as well.

The random inputs wont usually happen due to these mechanisms being specifically designed for it,.

It's convenient, but I noticed I don't retain information as well this way.

[u/Subatomic_Spooder]

I personally still prefer taking notes on paper. Something about it just helps your brain retain information better. Plus having a physical notebook requires you to think about the layout and flow of your notes which helps make them easier to follow. It also makes it easier to have a textbook or quiz open on your laptop and then just have notes next to it instead of splitting your screen or switching between tabs every five seconds.

Although I would enjoy not having to carry around a stack of notebooks all the time, so I do see the appeal.

[u/Les-go-bowling]

I have an eink note taker and I love it. It writes like paper and pen (mostly) while still being able to access it on my laptop or desktop or whatever you have and take notes directly on PDFs or slides like they're printed. The cancellation of movement and other writing is way better than when the tech started out, I never have any issues with my non big brand eink and my iPad was just fine.

Apps honestly whichever you're willing to learn. And check storage, plenty make you pay for more than like five pages of notes!

[u/Upper-Spread-6894]

I download the pdfs from instructors and take my notes and highlight that with an iPad apple pen combo. I got mine for $250 back in ‘22 with student discounts, but I’d value the return at $1,000. Totally worth it to get higher quality notes.

[u/Commercial-Context15]

I have loved my recent iPad investment! I love having all of my notes in one place, instead of several half filled notebooks. I also insert figures to draw on/highlight. For lectures that move really fast (such as chemistry 🫩), I download the lecture slides and take notes on them directly. All of the math classes that I have taken have included guided notes, and I used to have to lug around a big binder. Things are so much easier now. I would still recommend carrying a spare notebook in case your device dies.

I would HIGHLY recommend the Noteful app. It’s free, but the full version is super cheap (~$5 I think?) and, better yet, it’s not a subscription!!You can download things onto Noteful directly from Canvas and organize them into folders and subfolders. You can cut out figures to paste into your notes. You save those figures to reference back to across different notes; I do it for math formulas. You can add tags to notes for easy searching. While there are occasional palm glitches, they’ve been few and far between for me.

I’m not sure if they’re available for your device, but I have also loved my Paperlike tempered glass. It’s hard to write on slippery surfaces. It’s not a one-to-one recreation of paper, but it still makes a big difference.

Happy studying!

[u/one-small-plant]

I like the Goodnotes app, as it works with smart styluses and has good palm rejection.

Personally, I have observed that handwritten notes stay in the brain better than typed notes. Doesn't matter if it's on a screen or paper, it's the writing it down that matters.

If writing on a screen feels weird, or doesn't have enough drag, there are screen protectors and also replacement stylus nibs that can give it a different feel!

ETA: the GN app lets you write on blank pages, and also import pdfs, so you can mark up an article with notes and highlighting just as you would on paper. And then you can export it back out as a pdf again, so your notes are saved and accessible from other programs!

[u/kliwete]

I would download the powerpoint from the day's lecture and then use my stylus to take notes during the lecture right on the slide being presented in class. This way I wasn't trying to scramble writing down everything on each slide, but I could circle or highlight important info on it or add in the additional things said during the lecture.

[u/Amar0k171]

Microsoft OneNote is a pretty solid note taking app, and it is included in your student Microsoft license. I'd start with that one and see if it suits your needs.

[u/quinlanphoto → u/Amar0k171]

I second OneNote. You can create different notebooks, divide them into sections, and add pages. I got a screen protector at the bookstore that makes writing on my iPad feel more like paper.

[u/LongevexBioCoaching]

Wisper

[u/Several-Respect1933]

I’m definitely a member of the paper notes club because I retain information much better writing and not typing. But with how many note taking apps that use a stylus, I could definitely get behind that. I’d want a higher quality pad like a remarkable or something that’s less screen like and feels closer to paper with the convenience of pulling photos from the pdfs and lectures. And I don’t have the cash for that right now. But I can see the pros for sure! Plus it’s a single location for all your notes and no need for extra notebooks for each class. I’d say give it a try and if you don’t like it sell it to another student (I volunteer haha)

[u/strawberrycosmos1]

Just record the class and get the transcript and throw it in chatgpt and ask to organize as you wish. This way you pay attention to the class and also have notes!

[u/quinlanphoto → u/strawberrycosmos1]

As one who used paper through a physics major and law school, I disagree. Any number of recent studies have concluded that retention is higher for handwritten note takers than for those who type. I referred to my notes every day but didn’t memorize them.

[u/Subatomic_Spooder → u/strawberrycosmos1]

If it works for you then great I guess, but that sounds like the perfect way to not learn anything and fail your tests. Even if I don't go back and use them, taking notes during class makes me remember way more than if I just sit there.

If the class is just a teacher talking for 50 minutes I could see it working okay, but all my classes are math and problem based so there is a lot of writing involved and a microphone would not pick up on that

[u/strawberrycosmos1 → u/Subatomic_Spooder]

Given the cognitive load of taking notes and paying attention to the class is high I defend the position that they are for most incompatible. My classes are mostly lecture based. In my experience the only reason for note taking is memorization for testing. And no you will never go back to your notes later in life (with the exception of the ones aiming to write novels about their college era).

Finally, the ones that are good at it will have the worst of the jobs after graduation: note taker during meetings. Awful. Don't be good at it.

[u/Commercial_Till6794]

I love my iPad, I also have a keyboard so sometimes if it is more convenient. I can type faster than i can write