<p>I'm pretty content with my desktop and I've obviously gone through a few years at a CC with it. But this September I'll begin studying at UCLA and am wondering if it is really necessary? What percentage of UC students, would you say, bring laptops into class? What are the advantages of having one?</p>
<p>The main disadvantage I can forsee is:</p>
<ol>
<li>Lugging it around on the bus from Koreatown.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If you’re going to stay at the campus for a while then sure…but if you’re going to going home after the classes then why bother o.o Unless you’re bad or have trouble with taking notes in lecture…</p>
<p>I have a laptop so I can play Nintendo emulators in class. Highly recommended.</p>
<p>I would say it depends on how you memorize your information, if writing things down helps you to remember things better that would be the best option, if you like to have everything on paper first without really thinking about the information while writing it and then looking it over then a laptop would be the best option. This type of situation is highly individualized to how your note taking strategies are.</p>
<p>^because you won’t actually be thinking while taking notes with a lap top… </p>
<p>to answer the question, is it necessary? no.
but does it make life a hell of a lot more convenient? yes. </p>
<p>plus, if you buy a mac at most places, you can get a free 8 gig ipod touch!</p>
<p>touch!!</p>
<p>that means you can touch it!</p>
<p>fo’ FREE!</p>
<p>when you are typing are you really thinking or just typing exactly what you’re hearing without really thinking about it? for me at least, when i’m listening to somebody talk and just typing everything down I don’t retain that information as well as if I was writing it and actually having to think about what was going down on paper, again it’s totally individualized.</p>
<p>^^ this is actually true. I find hand-copying notes allows me to absorb the information much better than when I type. Typing is much more ‘mechanical’ to me than writing at this point.</p>
<p>i can’t go to campus w/out mine cuz i heavily rely on it…i guess it would probably also depend on your major but i can’t imagine not having it on campus. My solution last year was a HP netbook, i love it because it does almost all the same things as a regular laptop, extremely lightweight & small, very inexpensive (i think i paid like $350 at best buy) . Netbooks are really popular on the Berkeley campus, not sure about UCLA but i would imagine it being similar there.</p>
<p>I plan on getting a Macbook when I transfer in September. I know Davis has a computer purchase program where you can get additional loans for the expense. I’m sure other campuses have something like this. </p>
<p>It’s convenient, and I like the fact that Macbooks have a built in microphone if I ever decide to record lectures. Other laptops probably have this feature too.</p>
<p>What’s your major?</p>
<p>For math, science, and econ where numbers, charts and graphs are heavily utilized, I do not recommend a laptop. </p>
<p>If you are something else, then laptop might come to a use depends on the professor. I remember taking this one class where the prof used PowerPoint slides to lecture, and he was literally going through each slide within 20 second interval that there is no way to read the whole thing and take notes with hands. I recommend laptops for those that requires intense note-taking, such as history classes, unless you are a fast hand-writer.</p>
<p>And never record lectures. Probably one of the most useless things to do. Listen carefully and take good notes while you are in the class. Recording lecture notes only motivates you to pay less attention and generally slack off during the lecture. And going through the recorded lecture notes is one of the most inefficient way to study for the midterm/finals. Unless English comes as a challenge and you have a problem understanding the vocabulary the prof uses to the point that you have a major issue understanding the lecture material, do not think about recording the lectures.</p>
<p>Not that I record lectures, but most people I know still pay attention, then listen to the recording over the next 24 hours to pound it into their head. They will also do so before the tests.</p>
<p>I’ll double tap that. I feel like recorded lectures allow me to really pay attention in class, and then take good notes later when I’ve got the full context.</p>
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<p>between this and a few of your other posts, i’m growing to hate your 2 cents.</p>
<p>oh pinker, how i wish we had the same major so I could gain insight from your magnificent brain ^_^. Alas, I will be stuck in anthro with all the dunderheads.</p>
<p>I say experiment with different forms of note taking to find what’s right for you. I take notes by hand because I memorize info the best from that. I don’t know if I type fast enough for laptop notes and sometimes a tape recorder can junk out on you. But to each his own. This are your college experiences and your grades, so find what suits you best.</p>
<p>You can hate my 2 cents all you want.</p>
<p>But personally, just re-listening to the same 1-to-2 hour lecture I find it a complete waste of time.</p>
<p>Instead, upgrade your note-taking skills until you can keep up with the professor. Avoid transcribing. If you are a slow writer, take notes on a laptop. Ask questions during the lecture, and go over your notes right after class for 5 to 10 minutes.</p>
<p>What I do is after the lecture, I bullet-point 3 to 5 most important themes/topics discussed in the lecture and summarize the day’s lecture material. This should take no more than 10 minutes. Why does this strategy work? This extra moment of reflection instills the material in your mind, reducing the effort required later to study. And at the same time, you’ve pretty much created a study guideline to be viewed later when it comes the exam period. This strategy works much better than going over the entire recorded lecture over the 24 hour timeframe.</p>
<p>I would spend that 1 to 2 hours on adding details to my notes and reiterating the missing points and memorizing the materials rather than on listening to the same lecture over and over that would add no fresh points to the material.</p>
<p>But whatever works for you. But as for me, recording lecture is a very inefficient way of studying/reviewing for the exam.</p>
<p>Sounds like good advice.</p>
<p>As a side note, a lot of the UCSD courses are podcast on the day of the lecture. Yes, this occasionally fails too, but it makes getting a recording a lot easier.</p>
<p>@dhl… i don’t think it’s anyone’s intention to rely on a recording of a lecture in lieu of taking notes… it’s just a supplement. if you’ve got any confusion… if you zoned out for a minute… it can be incredibly useful to skip back to that specific part of the lecture.
when giving advice, never make absolute statements.
probably one of the most useless things to do. </p>
<p>@dj… i could do without your sass, and, for the record, there’s enough insight in my magnificent brain to share with you and all of your fellow dunderheads.</p>
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<p>It wasn’t an advice; it was an order.</p>
<p>semantics…</p>