Tablet/iPad

I will be returning to University in September to study Medicine. I started my first undergraduate degree in 2009 and was completely fine with taking handwritten notes in lectures for the 4 years, but I feel things may have moved on a bit in the meantime and it is more efficient to take notes and follow lecture slides on a tablet or iPad.

I know it depends on the individual and their preferred way of learning/note-taking, but is a tablet recommended for note taking?

Reply 1

TazmeenX

Pros: You won't lose ur notes (they're all in the same place), easy to edit and they'll look much neater on your ipad. Also no paper so more environmentally friendly

Cons: people say you won't remember it as well compared to if you hand wrote them, your charge could run out half way during a lecture and (unless you back all your notes up) you could lose all of them if your ipad breaks

Reply 2

RoyalSheepy

Original post by Macrophage155

It's a brilliant way, get Notability and import the lecture slides to annotate on them. It's a much better way of taking down notes than typing on a laptop or writing on paper.

Notability also has a auto-backup feature.

Original post by TazmeenX

Cons: people say you won't remember it as well compared to if you hand wrote them

You'll be hand writing them anyways with an iPad and Apple pencil :eyeball:

Reply 3

TazmeenX

Original post by RoyalSheepy

oh i thought that they were gunna type up the notes never mind lol

Reply 4

Reality Check

Original post by Macrophage155

I would just caution against doing absolutely everything on a tablet or computer. I regularly encounter students who are so unaccustomed to marshalling their thoughts for long-format writing such as essays using pen and paper that when the examinations come, they really struggle to put together a coherent answer. You must retain the ability to write for extended periods of time on paper (without the benefit of being able to CTRL-X, CTRL-V everything, spell-check, etc) - and this can only be done by fairly regular practice.

Reply 5

lollypop_

Original post by Macrophage155

When I started Uni I used to write notes out until I purchased an iPad. In my opinion, it's a lot faster to type your notes and you have the bonus of being able to back them up and edit them more easily. If you do get an iPad I would recommend you get a case with a Bluetooth keyboard (I got one from Amazon). I also downloaded a notes app (Goodnotes 7) and got an Apple pencil for when I need to write out notes. It's expensive, but if you can afford it, I think it's a worthy investment.

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post by Reality Check

I agree with this 100%. I hardly write anything with a pen anymore and solely revised electronically for my last exams. It sounds ridiculous but I really struggled to write for the 2 hours and made constant mistakes probably because I'm so used to being able to edit my work all the time.

Reply 7

Reality Check

Original post by Anonymous

Yes, exactly. And it's a really common thing now - the only time students need to write for three-hours straight and compose coherent answers is in an examination. This is not the time to have to get back into the saddle, so to speak.

Reply 8

username5223044

Wow! I had never used TSR before yesterday and I am amazed at how engaged and helpful everyone is! Thanks a million for all of your replies and advice. It is all very helpful!

Reply 9

RoyalSheepy

Original post by Macrophage155

Wow! I had never used TSR before yesterday and I am amazed at how engaged and helpful everyone is! Thanks a million for all of your replies and advice. It is all very helpful!

Welcome to the forums and you're very welcome :smile:

Reply 10

Reality Check

Original post by Macrophage155

Wow! I had never used TSR before yesterday and I am amazed at how engaged and helpful everyone is! Thanks a million for all of your replies and advice. It is all very helpful!