taking notes: paper or laptop

How fast do you type?

I type 65-75 wpm with fair accuracy. I use my laptop for notes.

I don't think the impact on the environment for one hour is that large.

Also, my handwriting is pretty bad (I've been known to not be able to read my own handwriting). I think the paper is more wasteful. Especially considering I'd have to attempt to transfer the class notes either to another piece of paper slowly with better handwriting or to the laptop. I'd rather take out the middleman, as it were, and input directly into the laptop.

But your mileage may vary.

(I used to take notes on a PDA using an external keyboard and then import that into the laptop. But the PDA died.)

 

If you really want to take it this seriously,,, the lap top would win hands down for a number of reasons,, but go by a ~60 watt foldable solar panel with the proper charging plugs and charge the battery from it!

Icarus

 

Use a pencil then rub it out after you transfer it to the laptop, one piece of paper per year should suffice then..

 

I don't think you should worry too much about one or the other being marginally better, but instead focus on which solution will help you excel better in class.

I used to compete in typing (in high school I thought I would be a secretary), and type regularly 85-100wpm with few errors. But I would elect to take notes on paper for several reasons, primarily because it allows me greater flexibility in my notes.

I was in engineering classes (lots of higher math, equations, problems, etc.) and lecture often involved a complicated problem being worked out. Everything the teacher wrote on the board I annotated in pen/ink. But often he (yes, they were all male teachers) would make a clarifying statement about the problem or maybe answer another student's question... these ad-lib statements that weren't necessarily part of the lecture or problem I would work into the appropriate area with pencil. Really important things were highlighted. Sure, probably overkill complicated, but it worked well for me to recall the class lecture and how the various problems were solved. It helped that my handwriting was neat, too.

But probably for a class that is just straight lecture without complicated equations and such would be fine just typing on your laptop.

Best of luck... what are you studying?

 

Damn hard to draw a quick sketch when your typing. Sometimes a sketch is the easiest way to recall some things.

 

How about a pocket recorder,,, digital or cassette?

Icarus

 

A good MP3 player will have a voice recorder option. Just take it up to the head of the class. Later, you could interface with Dragon dictate (the higher end versions can transcribe audio files). Of course, the problem with that would be that DD needs to learn the speech patterns of the speaker, so perhaps that idea is shite, but it's worth looking into. Here's an idea, at the start of the semester go to your profs office hour and get him/her to train DD and then this might work. Of course, some profs might tell you to sod off, but could be kinda cool, and a neat way to you to get to know the prof (they wouldn't forget that meeting). Certainly shows that you give a shit about their course.

BTW, Admiral Ackbar is tha man (or Calamari, anyways).

 

If you choose paper, try to use only paper that is a high percentage of post consumer recycled content.
As far as pen/pencil, get a mechanical pencil (saves trees dying for standard #2s) that is actually refillable, and hang onto it! Or, get a decent pen that takes refills, and hang onto it!
I'm a writer, myself. I love my laptop, but I prefer physically taking notes. I'll transcribe them into electronic documents later.

 

Just a note:

You cannot record the professor unless he gives you permission to do so.

I normally hate mechanical pencils. They're always breaking. But I found one at Levenger that I love. It has a big, honkin' lead. It has a built in sharpener and eraser. And it comes with colored leads for highlighting. It's for "dry" highlighting. It doesn't soak through the paper; and no chemicals.

 

Has anyone tried one of the PC tablets? I saw one at a deposition the other day and it looked pretty cool.

 

You know, given the massive amount of paper in recycling bins on any given campus, I'd just nick some out of the bin and scribble on it. How much to you really need to write? I mean really. You're not in there to be a stenographer, you just want the salient nuggets of goodness. I'd just use paper, scratch paper from a bin. Then you don't have to lug a laptop around with you. It's obviously up to you. Do what works.

 

I had hand writing recognition on my PDA which after just a little training was 99% accurate at recognising my scrawl. Maybe a tablet will work well? Let us know if you go that way.

 

Let me offer a bizarre suggestion. Try out one lecture forgoing both computer and notes. Listen and think about what is being taught actively and dynamically. See how well you retain the info.

The answer to your original question may preclude the best answer of all.

 

Notes??? what the heck is that?

I never too notes,, and I turned out OK! Avoid the rush,,, drop out now!

Icarus

 

yeah, I was never a big note taker myself. But I went to a pretty small school and lecture classes were not the norm (and I never liked that format anyways).

 

Everyone has their own learning style. Some learn by seeing, some by hearing, some by doing (writing). I'm a writer-learner, with secondary visual, my daughter is auditory (she can read something all day, but won't remember a thing unless it goes in the ear).

How do YOU learn best? that's the main issue.

 

I'm a visual learner.

I took notes on everything and kept all of the handouts. (I've still got stuff from junior high.) I internalize by both writing it and seeing it in writing.

Learning is a whatever floats your boat thing. That's why the current attempts at standardization, testing and reform are failing. One size does not fit all.

Try a lot of things and then use what works best.

There was very little diagraming or the like in the classes I took. In a few, I'd either draw it on a pad and transfer that to computer later, or I'd use the "draw" in Appleworks (and the pen for my Wacom tablet) or a program like Inspiration or Omnigraffle.

I wouldn't do that if I were taking a math class with lots of equations. For that, pencil and paper and then rewrite everything legibly when I got home.