I should’ve consulted here before stressing myself out over relatively unimportant things for months haha (completely forgot about cc resources lol)
I was wondering if a lot of premeds/med students use an iPad pro. My dad has been fascinated with the device (lol i feel like he wants to get it more than I do) and suggests that it will be a better notetaking/organization tool than handwritten notes.
I’m all for trying it out, except it’s quiiiite expensive. Plus, my laptop is outdated, too, so I’m thinking about switching to a Macbook Air (but I heard they’re getting discontinued???) (but ofc my dad suggests I get a Macbook Pro). I received a scholarship that can pay for a device (but I don’t feel comfortable splurging on both unless it’s really really worth it), so price isn’t toooo big of a deal. I just want to know how useful they would be.
Sorry my thoughts are all scattered. But the big questions are:
Should I get an iPad pro for notetaking? Is it useful? If so, which size?
Do premeds take a lot of handwritten notes? Or is it better to go with typed notes (in which case I won’t need an ipad)?
Should I get a Macbook Air or Pro? Or is there another lightweight laptop you would recommend?
I know this is personal preference, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your experiences!
It’ll tell you what’s getting refreshed/updated, what’s being discontinued, as well as where in the development cycle each product is. (IOW, if you buy a iPad Pro today is it going to outdated by by a newer improved model next month.)
I would recommend check with your college’s IT dept before you buy anything to see if IOS is supported by all applications on the network that you will be using for classwork & homework. Can you access all the school based web services–like Blackboard, homework sites, etc --using a iPad? What about software packages that you’ll used for math classes or science labs? The library digital journals interface?
If you do get an iPad, you’ll still need a laptop (or at least bluetooth keyboard for your iPad) to write papers/lab reports etc with. (Seriously, do want to be writing a 25 page term paper on a iPad touchpad?)
D2 used a small digital recorder to record lectures (with the permission of the prof) because she found if you’re so focused on note-taking, you often miss important stuff in the lecture. Your instructors will usually put up the Power Points from the lecture on the class website after the lecture is over.
Handwritten vs typed notes–personal preference. There is educational research that suggests that the act of writing information down leads to superior retention of the material over typing identical notes.
I haven’t tried an ipad Pro but have considered it.
I personally can’t stand studying from an electronic device so unless notes can be written neatly and then printed…I likely won’t be purchasing an iPad Pro anytime soon. For one of my bio classes last semester, I took typed notes in the notes section of the PowerPoint slides made available to us before class on my laptop (MacBook Pro). Ended up transferring my notes to Word and printing the notes out to study from.
At certain times, I was also afraid of losing my notes by way of a mishap or malfunction…so that’s something to consider. Next semester, I’ll likely be taking notes the “traditional” style - pen and paper. I’m not a hardcore tech guy.
A girl in my math class this past semester used an ipad Pro daily and it seemed to work for her…so I’d suggest experimenting with it if you have the money.
On the topic of upgrading to a mac laptop: before I purchased my MacBook Pro laptop, I wasn’t a mac person. It’s really nice and several ladders up in quality from my old HP laptop (especially screen quality)…but I don’t think it’s worth spending so much on a laptop if you’re using it for basics (web searching, paper writing, printing notes, etc.). I admit that I gave in to purchasing one because everyone around me had macs and I didn’t want to be “that guy”. Sometimes I regret spending so much on a single device. xD A few weeks ago, I spilled a good amount of water on the keyboard. It survived, but I nearly had a heart attack.
In my premed classes, 90 percent of the students take notes manually (paper and pen). Unless you’re quick on the Pro, I think paper and pen gives the notetaker an advantage when drawing complex figures, especially if the lecturer is going through the material quickly.
For your third question, I’d recommend the Pro over the Air based on the research I did before purchasing my laptop. Like I said earlier, I’m not a tech person, but the Pro seems to be the stronger option according to many reviews and opinions i’ve read online.
I’d go with a Microsoft Surface or similar (Lenovo Yoga) and something like MS OneNote to take notes (typing and pen input)… though personally I’d prob go pen and paper, and then later re-do them digitally… always helped me learn to re-copy notes.