Using a tablet to take lecture notes?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Sorry, I already posted this under the College Computers topic, but I wasn't sure if that was the right place since I don't really need too much advice on which brand to get or anything.</p>

<p>Does anyone have experience with taking notes on a tablet, particularly in biology and chemistry classes?</p>

<p>I am considering buying myself an iPad Mini 2. Last semester, my biology teacher would talk incredibly fast, and as I am a slow writer, I had a hard time getting everything down, and would literally have hand cramps every day after class. I am a much faster typer, but it would be difficult to take notes on my laptop because then I would have to use paint or something to draw the figures and graphs, and I have a really hard time drawing coherently when using a trackpad. I have tried this before, and it didn't work at all, so this is not really a feasible option for me.</p>

<p>I have heard the bio professors in the next two courses in the sequence talk even faster, so that is why I am considering getting a tablet with one of those keyboard cases, so then I can type my notes and draw in figures and graphs along the way using a stylus.</p>

<p>Would this be a worthwhile investment, do you guys think?</p>

<p>Also, do you guys think the iPad Mini would be too small to take notes on? Should I get the iPad Air instead? I prefer the iPad Mini because it is less clunky, but since I am buying this for primarily academic reasons (and also to use when I run on the treadmill, maybe) rather than for recreation, I want it to be a size that makes logical sense for my purposes.</p>

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<p>I’m a Luddite. You could ask to voice record the lecture for later transcription but there’s no guarantee of them saying yes.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you could maybe do a workshop on note taking. It doesn’t mean writing everything down. It means writing the key points so you have the grasp of the ideas you’re reading about in your own time. You shouldn’t be constantly scribbling. </p>

<p>A good old pad of paper and nice pen is still the better tool in many circumstances…</p>

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<p>The problem is not that I don’t know how to take good notes. I don’t write down everything the professor says, not even close. I know how to distinguish between what information is important and what information is not. The problem is that I write incredibly, incredibly slow (people have actually told me that I write frustratingly slow), and the professors flip through slides (most of which are not posted online) very fast.</p>

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<p>I took notes on my ipad for the last two years of college, and I didn’t have any problems with it at all. I had a keyboard and a stylus, and I would switch between writing and typing as I saw fit. Very easy, and if you have the money to spend on it, then it was a worthwhile investment for me.</p>

<p>I don’t really like the size of the ipad mini, but it just depends on what you want. I had the full-size ipad (I got mine a while ago back when the ipad 3 was just coming out), and I never had a problem carrying it around. The ipad air is pretty small and light, so I don’t see how it would be difficult to carry around.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Baktrax. Is there some kind of program that will convert handwriting to typed text? I feel like there is something on my phone like that, that might be useful too.
I will have to go to the Apple store and check out the iPad Air and see how portable it seems compared to the Mini.</p>

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<p>There probably is, but I don’t use anything that converts handwriting to text. I took my notes in Notability, which I think is a paid app, but it’s one of the best notetaking apps that I’ve found.</p>

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<p>Cool, if I end up getting a tablet I will check out Notability. Thanks again!</p>

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<p>2nd note for notability, you can input graphs, type, write, and annotate PDFs which is super useful</p>

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<p>My kids both used netbooks to take notes. The originally had large, heavy full-size laptops but found them too heavy and bulky for their tastes and when they broke, switched to netbooks and desktops with extra monitors. That system worked much better for them.</p>

<p>I personally have a ipad mini and Belkin keyboard case that I use when I go to meetings and take notes. The battery life of the Belkin keyboard is not as long as I’d like and the keys take a little getting used to, especially the apostrophe and quote marks. There are other keyboards as well. </p>

<p>One problem I have with the ipad mini is it doesn’t play flash, so some things don’t work on it. I haven’t used it with a stylus, so am not sure how well that works. I typed this reply on the Belkin keyboard. </p>

<p>Personally, I like PCs, and H is thinking we may want to get a Windows tablet or laptop or something. We are used to MICROSOFT OFFICE programs. My brother has bought the apple compatible versions of these & app to transfer docs between the programs, but I haven’t so am limited on what I can do unless and until I buy the compatible programs.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the recommendation, AlixMRoz.</p>

<p>I went to the store to look at iPads today. If I get one, I will definitely get the iPad Air.
I think it would be useful, but it’s a lot of money to spend, especially when I already have an iMac, a Macbook Pro with Retina, an iPod touch, and, whenever the iPhone 6 comes out, an iPhone 6. There is a lot of product overlap there. However none of the products I have can be used to type notes in science classes so…I don’t know. Difficult decisions.</p>

<p>HImom, thanks for reminding me that the keyboards have limited power, I totally didn’t think about that. How many hours of life does yours get? Not having flash probably wouldn’t be too much of a problem for me.</p>

<p>And I definitely would not consider a PC for myself, I’m 100% an Apple person and I don’t care how conformist or snobby that makes me sound, I know from experience that Apples are superior haha. I suppose there are valid reasons for getting a PC though, if you’re a gamer or engineer.</p>

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<p>If you have the Belkin keyboard, I think you can probably get about 4 hours or so on one charge. If you have a standalone aluminum Apple keyboard, you can get much longer and than just replace it with regular batteries (I think AA). I don’t understand why none of your existing tech would work for what you need. </p>

<p>A MacBook Pro with your itouch should do it. Use the iPod touch to take photos of whatever you need or use the MacBook Pro. Maybe you need to go to the apple store and see whether the current products you have would do what you need before buying more products.</p>

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<p>Hmm. Okay, I think 4 hours seems reasonable. Unfortunately, I don’t think just having an Apple keyboard would work, because the desks in my lecture halls are pretty dang small.</p>

<p>It’s not really that I want to take photos, I want to be able to draw right into my notes. So for example if the professor is talking about an experiment and he draws some kind of picture of the setup or a graphical representation of the results, I want to be able to draw that figure in my notes. I suppose taking a picture of the professor’s diagram and later inserting it into the notes would work for some people, but for me personally I, 1) need to draw and write things myself in order to fully understand and remember them, and 2) have found that professors have horrible handwriting and drawing skills, and I like to organize things neatly in my own way.</p>

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<p>OK. The full-size iPad with the keyboard with cover might be a better match then the mini. That’s what the private HS my kids graduated from is having their students use now. The mini may be a bit cramped for drawing and graphing with a stylus. Try them out at the apple store before investing so you won’t be disappointed.</p>

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<p>Yeah I tried the mini today, it was way too cramped.
I think I will go back to school and give it a week and see if I can keep up just taking notes in a notebook. If not, I’ll just order one online and give it a try.</p>

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<p>Just wanted to chime in because I’m thinking about getting an iPad for notes and stuff as well. I think a lot of it will depend on the kinds of classes you have, so that’s something you should think about, too. </p>

<p>For me, I have French and Writing and Rhetoric classes. An iPad won’t be very useful for French since actually writing words out is how we learn and also how we’re tested. As far as getting quick translations or help on something, my Galaxy S4 can handle that with its translation app and easy Google access. </p>

<p>My Writ & Rhet classes, however, involve more multimedia projects and online involvement with reading journal articles and submitting responses. I can picture myself taking advantage of iMovie and also having a one pound Internet device I can take wherever I go. I have a 15" Asus laptop, and I’m kind of like Hlmom’s kids in that I hate lugging it around. However, it serves its function of typing papers, making PowerPoints, using Google Docs, and running Excel, so I don’t need anything too fancy. </p>

<p>Another useful thing about the iPad is buying ebooks. If you have science and math courses, I’d imagine that to work great for you. One of my friends was somehow able to stream her books (mostly math) for free, so that saved her $500 and paid for the iPad just with that. It wouldn’t work for me since I need the entire audio and workbook set with my French textbooks and since we have online journals as textbooks anyway for WRT, but you may find that you can take advantage of it. </p>

<p>Finally, have you thought about if you want to get one with cellular connectivity? That’s an extra $130 upfront and then a monthly payment, and you only get to make the choice when you first purchase it. There’s no changing your mind. If you think you’ll use it primarily on campus and at home where you’ll have Wi-Fi, then the cellular plan is a waste of money, IMO. If you forsee yourself using it at odd, non-Wi-Fi places, then maybe you should consider it.</p>

<p>So, in sum, I’d say to totally wait a week or two into the semester to decide. See what kind of stuff you need to do and if you can take advantage of the iPad’s portability, book replacements, and media capabilities. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>About the keyboard, I have the logitech ultrathin keyboard, and I love it. The charge is supposed to last for months, but I think I’ve charged it maybe twice in the last 2-3 years that I’ve had it. It’s not a full cover (it only covers the front of the ipad like the apple covers), but I had a sleeve for mine so that never bothered me. It’s pretty pricey, but the charge definitely lasts a full term (for me I’m pretty sure it lasted the full school year, but I don’t really remember), the feel of the keys when typing is very nice (to me at least), and it doesn’t add a lot of bulk. I don’t know if they’ve made a new one for the air, but it might be a keyboard to look at. The limiting factor is only how long the ipad can last using bluetooth, but you’ll have that problem with every keyboard.</p>