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iPad vs Pen and Paper for note-taking

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by kizza111, Jun 10, 2012.

?

iPad or Paper?

  1. iPad

    12 vote(s)
    25.0%
  2. Paper

    36 vote(s)
    75.0%
  1. kizza111

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    Last term (semester) for the final few weeks, i brought my iPad in to kind of test run using to take my notes. Now i'm just wondering whether I should continue when i go back this wednesday. So,

    PRO'S:

    - I loved being able to copy and paste things that were getting annoying to draw (such as the boltzmann distribution if you know it.)

    - I liked typing my notes as it was a lot quicker, which gave me more time to actually think about what I had written.

    - An obvious point; i liked how light and, more importantly, small it was when compared to notebook(s) so it took up less space in my bag and i could bring in some more things i wanted to.

    - I liked the ability to drag pictures in from the internet or the camera itself and have them inside my notes

    CON'S :

    - When it came to revising for exams, i found looking through notes on it a lot more annoying than being able to just flick through pages of my notes on paper. i.e, you more have to select your page rather than justbrowse through them all.

    - In response to this first con, (and also as a form of backup) i began to print off my notes on a weekly basis and put them in a folder with my handwritten notes. However, it was very annoying to do, if i did it in school itself it would have to be in black and white and if i did it at home it began to cost a lot.




    So yeah, what do you guys think? :slight_smile:
     
  2. BradThePug

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    I have taken notes on my iPad, but I usually prefer to take notes on my computer. Really for me, sometimes for work I have to take notes for what clients want done on my iPad. I do this becaus it's easy to transfer to other computers. Its also lighter to carry. So, I guess the answer for me is that it really depends.
     
  3. kizza111

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    I should point out that a laptop is out of the question. An iPad results in enough annoying comments let alone bringing a laptop in, particularly as it's a mac which seems to inspire a lot of hate xD
     
  4. BudderMC

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    I've never tried with a laptop (because mine is too big to bring around) or a tablet (because I don't own one xD), but I think I'd go for pen and paper anyway, for these reasons:

    - Honestly, there's nothing better (to me) than the feeling of writing on paper
    - Even though it's annoying to re-copy certain things, repetition is a good form of studying/memorization; I find I recall things much better if I take the effort to actually re-draw diagrams from page-to-page as needed, rather than flip back and forth
    - I feel like I'd be distracted by all the potential fun things to do on my device (evident by the one tutorial I brought my laptop to... I ended up playing Pokemon on emulator the whole time <_<)
    - Personally, I'd be worried about having my device stolen/broken, since it's valuable
    - If your battery dies, you're boned for the rest of the day
    - If your device malfunctions, unless you diligently back up all your files, you lose access to all of your notes
    - If your device malfunctions, not only do you lose all your notes, but you lose the other stuff you used your device for too

    Of course, half of those potential problems apply to pen and paper in different ways, but I feel like there's a reason it's the "tried and true" method for note-taking. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
  5. I generally do not take notes on my iPad OR my laptop.

    But I am a crazy note taker. I draw arrows and make little comments in the margins about my thoughts and doodle. No one but me can interpret the gobledegook of my notes.

    I felt like I didn't learn things as well as I could have if I don't physically write it and make all those little metanotes in the margins because I don't connect the fact that I wrote with anything else to help me remember.

    But I fully admit that not everyone is like me.
    And sometimes I take notes on my ipad if it's a gen ed class that has nothing to do with my major and is not at all challenging. It is faster and my hand gets tired if I do what I normally do for every class I'm in.
     
  6. kizza111

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    Well you can write on the iPad with your own handwriting, it doesn't have to be typed if you want to make doodles etc :slight_smile:.

    As for Budder, sorry but most of your suggestions don't really apply to me (I won't go into why for all of them) other than the first 2. But the first 2 are pretty important for me.... Hmm..
     
  7. adam88

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    Wow, it's been ages since I've been in school. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: I do take classes for Tarot reading though, and I use my iPad to take notes there. However, I'm the type of student who never really reads his notes over. (AKA a bad one :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:) I sometimes feel that if I don't understand something intuitively I've got no business understanding it.
     
  8. Jakkur

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    I have an iPad and I love it but I've never used it for studying purposes besides reading internet articles. I just don't enjoy typing on a touch screen or writing on one with a stylus; and the iPad probably has one of the best screens in terms of response etc. I much prefer note taking with pen and paper... it feels more free.

    Plus, with the iPad, you have to make sure it's charged up enough to last through to the end of a lecture, and let's be honest, with all the gizmos on it, the battery life sucks after about 6 months of use.

    I'd recommend the iPad to anyone though, it's a great piece of kit.
     
  9. I prefer taking notes on paper, I have an unusual way I like to take notes, and it's a lot faster for me to write rather than use a stylus to type it all out. Plus, I like to doodle. ^_^
     
  10. Xeno

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    I usually write notes down on pieces of paper, mostly so I don't get distracted by the internet.
     
  11. Zontar

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    Math classes and classes with lots of symbols or diagrams: Pen/Paper.

    Lecture classes which mainly consist of plain sentences: iPad.

    Don't even bother with handwriting recognition or styli for the iPad. They all suck. If the class has you drawing lots of weird stuff, just use paper. But if you're just going to be copying down sentences the professor says, the iPad is an excellent choice.
     
  12. Kso1995

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    writing stuff down on paper helps me remember the material better.
     
  13. TheEdend

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    I personally like pencil and paper over an ipad or any computer for that matter.

    Pretty much like a lot of people have already said, I like to doodle and I take really weird notes that only I can understand. I like to highlight titles, draw arrows, make notes around the paper, and sometimes I do weird outlines in order to understand stuff. I also like it better to study notes that I wrote rather than typed because it feels...more real? Not sure how to explain it xD
     
  14. BajanBoy13

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    I would use an ipad or computer because
    1.I draw ALOT of random doodles and end up not being able to read by notes properly
    2.My school gets alot of notes and handouts and im all about reducing the amount of waste we produce...

    But sadly we aren't allowed ANY form of electronics in any school,I fact its against the law! But well lets just say laws are meant to be broken especially stupid ones.
     
  15. Elicitra

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    ipad/computer because my handwriting is not legible
     
  16. Sayu

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    Paper all the way! :slight_smile: I personally can't learn something from computer-typed notes as good as I can from written ones :slight_smile:
     
  17. DJT

    DJT Guest

    I grew up with technology and I like using touch screens, but at the end of the day you have to stick with the classics, Pen and Paper all the way :grin: although, I usually lose the paper I wrote the note on Ha ha.

    It just makes me think how many years will it be before paper is made redundant and everyone is using touch-screen technology? 0.0
     
  18. secretguyX

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    Me too, I would find it better to take actual notes rather than virtual notes.
     
  19. Harve

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    Pen and paper everytime. My friend took his laptop in to take notes but he knew that it was just a means of distraction. You'd also have to keep your bag really close to you all day too, as it's asking to get stolen.
     
  20. GayJay

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    ughh.. touchscreen!