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Which is better for taking notes in college?

L

LW07

Golden Member
Is pen and paper still good for taking notes in college or should i splurge for a laptop?
 
I heard this new device called Palm Pilot where you take notes like a pen on an electronic device
 
Depends on major, I would think. My degree is in physics, so my notes were all mathematical derivations. A laptop would've been useless.

But I would think for a liberal arts or poli-sci degree a laptop would be good for notes. I can type way faster than I write.
 
Laptops aren't particularly good for taking notes. They are distracting, they aren't great for special notations and visuals (unless you have tablet or touchscreen), and it's far more convenient to pull out a notebook or binder for quick jotting.

I tried using laptop in class for notes, but it's really not worth it. You'll learn better taking notes by hand, and even then it's better to listen and focus on content then writing most of the time (this is especially true for physics, chem, and math where memorization is less important at the momement than comprehension).
 
Depends on the class. Anything with charts or diagrams is more difficult, since you'll need a tablet to capture those effectively. Equations aren't a problem at all if you know LaTeX. If my classes didn't have any diagrams, I would definitely use a laptop, but since all of my classes inevitably have diagrams in them, I use paper.
 
I have a Tablet, which is the best of both worlds IMO. However, I don't think that I would recommend it unless you've really got the cash to spare. I really like mine though.
 
Laptop...much cleaner notes, will prepare you for writing in the real world (i.e. - on a keyboard), will improve your typing skills...PLUS...more stuff to do when class gets boring or that one guys asks another hypothetical questions trying to make him look smart requiring the prof./TA/Teacher to waste 10 minutes elaborating an answer that no one cares about...
 
Originally posted by: Kanalua
Laptop...much cleaner notes, will prepare you for writing in the real world (i.e. - on a keyboard), will improve your typing skills...PLUS...more stuff to do when class gets boring or that one guys asks another hypothetical questions trying to make him look smart requiring the prof./TA/Teacher to waste 10 minutes elaborating an answer that no one cares about...
Click to expand...

:laugh: so true. There's always that guy in class!
 
Originally posted by: esun
Depends on the class. Anything with charts or diagrams is more difficult, since you'll need a tablet to capture those effectively. Equations aren't a problem at all if you know LaTeX. If my classes didn't have any diagrams, I would definitely use a laptop, but since all of my classes inevitably have diagrams in them, I use paper.
Click to expand...

you're not seriously suggesting you can write a latex formula fast enough to follow a fast moving mathematical derivation on the board that covers 5 or 6 different blackboards (the kind where he finishes one and slides it up to reveal the one below it) ?

unless you are teh latex genius
 
Originally posted by: Crono
Laptops aren't particularly good for taking notes. They are distracting, they aren't great for special notations and visuals (unless you have tablet or touchscreen), and it's far more convenient to pull out a notebook or binder for quick jotting.

I tried using laptop in class for notes, but it's really not worth it. You'll learn better taking notes by hand, and even then it's better to listen and focus on content then writing most of the time (this is especially true for physics, chem, and math where memorization is less important at the momement than comprehension).
Click to expand...

pretty much exactly what I was coming to post

Pen & Paper. You'll get distracted by a Laptop.
 
Pen and paper.

I still use my laptop a lot - bringing it from my apartment to campus to use during the day, grabbing homework, downtime when I'm researching, etc...

It's not really if you have pen and paper, you don't need a laptop. A computer of some sort is needed otherwise you're stuck relying on computer labs. I guess it's a convenience issue for the latter.
 
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: newb111
Moleskin notebooks are the way to go
Click to expand...

lol.

my vote is papyrus and the blood of the innocent.
Click to expand...

always a good choice.

but where are you gonna find some innocents in college for the ink?
 
Originally posted by: Crusty
Originally posted by: Kanalua
Laptop...much cleaner notes, will prepare you for writing in the real world (i.e. - on a keyboard), will improve your typing skills...PLUS...more stuff to do when class gets boring or that one guys asks another hypothetical questions trying to make him look smart requiring the prof./TA/Teacher to waste 10 minutes elaborating an answer that no one cares about...
Click to expand...

:laugh: so true. There's always that guy in class!
Click to expand...

hey, i was that guy.

and i did it to spite you.
 
i studied poli sci and i say pen and paper. A lot of times I was scribbling down tables and whatnot and it would've just been harder to do on a laptop. Rarely did I have to write down lengthy quotes or anything, mostly just concepts and brief definitions.

Plus its nice just grabbing a notebook and a pen and walking to class
 
Laptop FTFW (for the F'ing WIN)

I have been using a laptop exclusively since 2006 when I started attending the university. For me it's easier since my hand writing is kind of bad and sometimes I cannot read my own writing, and I can write as fast the professor speaks.

It DOES sometimes become a hassle, I always have to sit on the sides of the classroom or the back near a power outlet and U have an extra 10lbs to carry on you. I carry a notbook only for stuff I MUST write down like I had to in math class.

 
Personally, I would use a laptop. I haven't written in cursive in years, and honestly it'd look like complete shit if I even attempted it. So I write pretty slow, writing in regular style. I can type around 80WPM, so taking notes would be insanely faster on a laptop for me.
 
tbh i type faster than i can write, so i'd have loved to have a notebook. unfortunately, i was an idiot and didnt have a paying job prior to college, so yeah... did college w/o a notebook.
 
It depends on the class.
I only found a laptop good for notes in one class: Intro to World History.
The notes were all text. No equations, no weird characters. I noticed that when I was writing, I was omitting many details just so I could keep up. (I don't really write very quickly.)
A laptop let me keep up. And I only ever kept Word open, nothing else.

The rest of my classes often would include diagrams, schematics, simple illustrations, and equations, which wouldn't go into a laptop very well.

 
Pen and paper. The act of you actually writing it will make it stick in your head much better. Easy to draw arrows, emphasize points, link ideas, etc.
 
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