Is it worth buying an iPad for a levels?

13

I’m in the 2nd week of a levels and I do maths further maths biology and chemistry and I’ve been tempted to buy an iPad. But I’m not sure if I fully want to go digital and ditch all paper notes for the pen and paper feeling. Is there anyone that does similar subjects and would say buying an iPad is worth it?

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Ive just started year 13 doing bio and maths so hopefully can help 🙂
I bought an iPad for use in sixth form and find it really helpful for organisation of tasks, making flashcards, watching videos and accessing pre-made digital notes etc
I dont take notes using my iPad though because for biology i find it really helpful to have the freedom to draw diagrams and spellcheck for key terms is a pain because it refuses to accept a lot of scientific terminology so that slows writing down. For maths, typing is completely impractical so you’d have to basically just draw digital notes which is an option but not one that would appeal to me personally.
I know that technology use varies between schools but at my sixth form everyone has to have a laptop or similar device. I was told that an iPad is fine if you don't do essay subjects but its highly advisable to have a keyboard because youll still need to do some extended digital writing, eg: for competitions or writing your ps. The only people in my classes who take digital notes either do it through an iPad and Apple Pencil (and it seems to take them longer to make notes in class plus some teachers dont allow it but it does often look neater!) or they are typists in exams due to a disability.

Reply 2

Samuraiurmadre

12

Yes and No.
I didn't really use it that much for note taking because i have a preference for writing on paper than on ipad that i didnt realise until i bought it lol but again that's just me
HOWEVER i found it really useful for instead of printing out entire past papers 24/7 i could do them on my ipad by downloading them from PMT and yeah that's what i used it for 90% of the time
also if you like the blurting study method its good for repeating writing down stuff without sort of wasting paper

Reply 3

Samuraiurmadre

12

Original post

by Samuraiurmadre

Yes and No.
I didn't really use it that much for note taking because i have a preference for writing on paper than on ipad that i didnt realise until i bought it lol but again that's just me
HOWEVER i found it really useful for instead of printing out entire past papers 24/7 i could do them on my ipad by downloading them from PMT and yeah that's what i used it for 90% of the time
also if you like the blurting study method its good for repeating writing down stuff without sort of wasting paper

btw i didn't do maths but i did chem and using the ipad for graphs instead of drawing them out was v helpful

Reply 4

apply_medicine

11

Original post

by UndecisiveBoy

I’m in the 2nd week of a levels and I do maths further maths biology and chemistry and I’ve been tempted to buy an iPad. But I’m not sure if I fully want to go digital and ditch all paper notes for the pen and paper feeling. Is there anyone that does similar subjects and would say buying an iPad is worth it?

hello, personally, i took my class notes on paper (apart from maths, i used my ipad because i would otherwise use wayyyy to much paper). i would make detailed notes combining class notes + notes from an external resource such as pmt on my ipad. this is so for revision i would have everything all in one place on my ipad. also, i think actually writing the notes using an apple pencil rather than typing it is more useful, but maybe thats just a personal thing. when using an apple pencil (or a dupe from amazon) you can draw pictures and annotate which really helps if you’re a visual learner

hope this helps

Reply 5

CatLover1

13

I did Biology, Chemistry and History at A Level and used an iPad. I found it very helpful. I was able to draw diagrams more easily and use different colours. I was also able to find useful images on the internet to add to my notes. I also found it really helpful to do practice questions on. I could download the topic questions from PMT and any assignments without having to print them. And I could redo the questions as many times as I wanted. Quick note: you cannot do magnifying questions on your iPad, you need to use A4 paper for those. For Chemistry, it meant I could do hundreds of the maths questions which I struggled with.

For History, I bought a keyboard and typed my notes and could annotate on diagrams (my two teachers taught differently).

Also, I am disabled and have chronic pain etc, so having an iPad with all my notes and all my textbooks was much more helpful for me.

Just to make it clear, you DO NOT need an iPad. It is more helpful in my opinion, but is not required. Also, you need to ask your school and your different teachers to see if they are happy for you to use your iPad. Also, it is more helpful if there is WiFi you can access (not impossible, but easier).

Reply 6

hollymclou

2

Original post

by UndecisiveBoy

I’m in the 2nd week of a levels and I do maths further maths biology and chemistry and I’ve been tempted to buy an iPad. But I’m not sure if I fully want to go digital and ditch all paper notes for the pen and paper feeling. Is there anyone that does similar subjects and would say buying an iPad is worth it?

hey im in my last year of a levels now and i SO recommend the ipad ive only bought one this week and its made such a difference already in my motivation and how fast i can take my notes ( especially since i can go back and make it look nice) if you still want the paper feeling theres screen protectors you can get to make it feel a bit less slippy like a screen, and if you do get a pen make sure it has palm rejection itll make your life so much easier!!

Is it worth buying an iPad for a levels?

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