What's the best way of taking notes at uni?

Writing on notebooks?
Typing on laptop? Tablet?
Taking pictures of the board?
Dictation apps?

Which is more efficient and effective?

Reply 1

Bio 7

21

Depends on the course.

If you need to do equations then a tablet or paper.
If you have lots to write then probably ipad or laptop.

Reply 2

erinls2

15

As above said, depends on course! I study medicine and I couldn’t keep up on my laptop (despite being a quick Typer) because there were lots of diagrams...I spent the rest of first year printing and annotating lecture slides and found that the best way. Start of second year I saved up and bought an iPad Pro and use notability to annotate my lecture slides, which I absolutely love! I’m completely paperless now and all I have to take to uni is my iPad!

Reply 3

chloejas1

6

I do law at uni, when I'm in my lectures I'll write notes in a notepad because I'm not the fastest at typing and then when I'm back to my flat I transfer the written notes into digital form. This is helpful for speed as well as memory because re-writing the notes keeps it fresh in my memory. In terms of taking pictures of the board I dont do that unless the lectures arent online.

Reply 4

yeahthatonethere

16

I do a biology degree and find that if your lecturers give you the power points beforehand, typing notes on the powerpoint is easiest as it means you can focus entirely on what they're saying and already have copies of any diagrams
If not then pen and paper is best so you can jot everything you need down including diagrams

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by chloejas1

I do law at uni, when I'm in my lectures I'll write notes in a notepad because I'm not the fastest at typing and then when I'm back to my flat I transfer the written notes into digital form. This is helpful for speed as well as memory because re-writing the notes keeps it fresh in my memory. In terms of taking pictures of the board I dont do that unless the lectures arent online.

You use notepad on a tablet?

Reply 6

Noodlzzz

21

I use iPad with Apple Pencil - covers all bases of what you mentioned above!

Reply 7

Elsie2001

8

Original post by erinls2

As above said, depends on course! I study medicine and I couldn’t keep up on my laptop (despite being a quick Typer) because there were lots of diagrams...I spent the rest of first year printing and annotating lecture slides and found that the best way. Start of second year I saved up and bought an iPad Pro and use notability to annotate my lecture slides, which I absolutely love! I’m completely paperless now and all I have to take to uni is my iPad!

This is really good to know as I’m going into first year medicine in September and recently bought an iPad Pro but have been worrying it wouldn’t be useful and I’d have to save up for a laptop 😬

Reply 8

Liverpool Hope University

Official Rep

19

Original post by Anonymous

Writing on notebooks?
Typing on laptop? Tablet?
Taking pictures of the board?
Dictation apps?

Which is more efficient and effective?

Hi there,

As most of your replies have stated, note taking can depend on several factors including your course and how you like to work. Like @erinls2, I used an iPad and notability to annote my lecture slides. I write slow and for me it was the best and easiest way to keep up with my lectures.

Fi :horse:

Reply 9

R T

13

Although there is some truth to "it varies" - honestly nothing truly beats a pad of paper + a pencil. Even if you want digital copies of your notes, you can always just scan them later.

Technology, while great, will rarely beat this for reliability (battery life, unexpected updates, larger danger to theft and accidental damage, etc.) and speed (taking notes in shorthand and quick diagram / mind map sketches will always be faster with a pencil, even if you can touchtype at 100+wpm like I can).

Reply 10

Andremasil

10

Original post by emeraldde

I'll be studying nursing (hopefully), is it a good investment to get an ipad pro?

You don't need an iPad Pro, there is a new iPad air 3 (2019) that is better if you want it only for university. I bought one and will try to go paperless. I also bought a keyboard and apple pencil.

Reply 11

Andremasil

10

Original post by Elsie2001

This is really good to know as I’m going into first year medicine in September and recently bought an iPad Pro but have been worrying it wouldn’t be useful and I’d have to save up for a laptop 😬

It is useful, there is plenty of videos about iPad/ apple pencil and med students. How to stay organized and study on it. Some say they don't use a laptop anymore.

Reply 12

Fresher18

18

iPad Pro 12.9 with Apple Pencil and GoodNotes 5 or my Laptop depending on what subject it is, normally iPad to annotate lecture slides

Reply 13

gjd800

20

The research pretty clearly shows that hand writing is miles better for retention and recall.

Reply 14

Fresher18

18

Original post by gjd800

The research pretty clearly shows that hand writing is miles better for retention and recall.

It does depend on how fast you can write though, I know for me typing is better as i'm slow at writing but others are opposite and faster at writing than typing. So I'd say its personal preference and is something that needs too be decided when there as you'll know how quick the lecturers go through things

Reply 15

gjd800

20

Original post by Fresher18

It does depend on how fast you can write though, I know for me typing is better as i'm slow at writing but others are opposite and faster at writing than typing. So I'd say its personal preference and is something that needs too be decided when there as you'll know how quick the lecturers go through things