Diary and Notepads vs. iOS

Hi everyone...

I'm hoping to go to Uni in Birmingham in September...

Got my conditional, just need to get my grade!

I've been doing some research on getting organised. A lot of people are recommending diaries and notepads and nice pens like Parkers etc...

But thinking about it, isn't it easier to use iDevices (iPhone, iPad etc.) ?

For calendar and deadlines and stuff, it's surely better because its always there and you don't have to look specifically in a diary...

And everything syncs up with each other...notes included.

Does anyone who's studying at the moment prefer iPad to old school notepads or vice-versa?

Reply 1

Vitamin D

I find myself constantly flipping between both. On the one hand, I like how my phone calendar syncs up with my laptop, but on the other hand notebooks and diaries are so much more customisable than iCal and you can add little notes anywhere you want.

It's a difficult one :frown:

Reply 2

deadwing

I don't think I've ever seen anyone using a computery thing to take notes in a lecture.

I don't really pay attention to the pens anyone else uses, but I also doubt there are many students with Parker pens lol.

Just stock up on free biros at the freshers fair and get a big pad of lined paper at Poundland and you're good to go.

Reply 3

arguendo

i use a laptop for lectures and tutorials. i have to for disability reasons, but before my disability i used pen and paper and there's no comparison for me - using a computer is SO much easier. i have everything i need on there, so i can cross-reference notes in the middle of a lecture or tut; i can look up things in the middle of a lecture or tut; access the lecture materials/slides online if i need to whilst making notes in the middle of a lecture/tut. i also type much faster than i write, and i find it easier to make presentable notes on a computer. if you have a lightweight device, it's great.

i've never tried using an ipad - plenty of people on my course use ipads with attachable keyboards, and it seems to work for them, but for me the screen and keyboard would be too small (disability means i need to use a full-size keyboard).

Reply 4

DarkWhite

I prefer my iPad - it's currently my employer's one, but probably going to buy it at the end of the year.

It takes a while getting used to it, but once I did everything was so much more efficient! For diary, iCal is pretty decent. It can sync Facebook's Events and if you want to, Birthdays. Takes 2 seconds to bring iCal up, find the date, and see if you're free instead of fumbling in a bag, spending a while flicking to the right page, then wondering if it's missing something like a birthday.

Same with note-taking. Unless you know shorthand, you can learn to be quicker on a tablet, and once you're done you know you won't have to go type up the notes later on, save them somewhere etc because they're saved and can by sync'd. If you know you'll need to draw diagrams, maths, etc then it's worth getting an app which can save drawings in notes too. It's also useful for annotating lecture slides that you've been given online beforehand.

Can also Google words you don't understand, record the lecture, bring up other pieces of work, add things like courseworks to to-do lists etc.

That said, it is completely personal preference :smile: