Comments on: College Life: Invest in a laptop

By: zaci1

zaci1 — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:10:49 +0000

I use a netbook for notetaking, including physics, and mostly its much better for taking large amounts of notes and its easier to add or remove from them when you want as well. Regarding latex i usually just type the code in a program that has an auto-complete mode, and compile it and review for mistakes after a lecture. I use it with Debian.

By: Laptop for taking Notes : Productivity501

Laptop for taking Notes : Productivity501 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:33:14 +0000

[...] posted an article about using a laptop to take notes at college. I tend to disagree. It is hard to beat a pen and paper for taking notes. One thing that is [...]

By: incogneto

incogneto — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:54:55 +0000

“Hope you enjoyed paying more for less. If you really love the Mac OS, buy it. Just don’t buy the Mac hardware because their commercials make you feel good about yourself.”
- Chef

I don’t quite agree with those comments. I have a Macbook Pro and can personally say that it kicks a$$ when it comes to other notebooks. It runs windows better than a conventional PC as well!

As for using it in college, the nature of detailed note taking with diagrams may make it unrealistic at this point in time for myself, however no doubt there are courses/degree’s out there that can be effectively done entirely on a laptop.

See what everyone else in your class is doing and then try out the various methods and see what’s best for yourself. Make sure you settle on something quickly though.

By: John

John — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:47:25 +0000

I use a Laptop for Taking Notes in all my subjects bar that of maths as for the drawing

Living in the UK the school brought a Hp Compaq 15″ Which Whieghs with battery under 1kg Surprisingly because of my Special Needs it is the law i use a laptop –
For Diagrams I use Microsoft Viso amazing unsung piece of office software and i have used viso in maths-
i would love to use one note but as i do not take the laptop home with me as it is heavy with the 7hr external battery,Network Cat5 Cable and Highly Expensive (Got through three) – Power Chargers I Would Get a Hp My Self if this was not the case – i also own both a laptop and a desk top at home all teachers i have now seem to not mind me using one but the history teachers – seem to have a grunge on all laptop users automatically – i use evernote for Homework sending to home – i use word for my class work and print off and file all my work three mornings a week (trust me it is needed) using a a4 file for each subject as for the revison side sometimes i find my notes to vage but thankfully are school has amazing online revision guides and a VLE (vitual learning enviroment) Which is due to be made active in the altumn in year 8 and year 7 i did use to wonder on the laptop but then i had a crap 3kg dell that finnaly broke the school IT department being to “busy”*cough* to fix it
i have 6 copies including the school NAS school system,the nas nightly backup,my home laptop,my school laptop,my home backup, and my memorey stick i am pretty well covered unlike a mate of mine who works in analog and only has 1 copy – “clever”
the school has full coverage of wireless which was usefull today in English instead of quickly typing up a 400 word peom which would of taken 8 minutes took a matter of seconds to find on the net and copy in to onenote to annotate (i only use onenote for anotations

i have used excel in maths but you don’t learn the correct method and have chosen myself to use paper and pen i am not fixed to use a laptop

I am pro laptops to people who get along with them (people with special needs) as two people i know who brought net books one acer aspier – stupid move as none of Linux lite works with windows sever and with only pre installed programs – and the other person with a advent (made by Currys) which ran windows and had 160gb hard disk and was compatible)in my opinion Linux is amazing Linux lite is to lite for school and is note also the guy with the Linux lite was not printing off work and homework and relying on his memory stick or removable drive (Teachers hate that Just print it off

some people get along with laptops that is fine special needs or not
others do not and should not use them
special needs or not
I think i might of just written i article by accident
still i hope you read

By: LiveLife

LiveLife — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:01:07 +0000

I’ve had two PC notebooks over the years…only paid the price of the machine and the repair/support plans (which I have yet to use). I retired the old one b/c of an accidental spill…

Another thing to consider with using a laptop for taking notes is the potential for rsi-repetitive stress injuries.

By: Mander

Mander — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:09:20 +0000

I tried to take notes on my laptop when I first got one, but it just got to be too much of a hassle. Too heavy, too noisy, not enough battery life, and too big to fit on the desk. My undergraduate university had a lot of old-fashioned classrooms with tiny little half-desks attached to the chairs, which just about fit a normal sized paper notebook, but I got tired of even that and started using half-size spiral notebooks. If I had a good tablet PC that would work like paper, I might try that, but they were just too expensive for my feeble budget. Something like a digital clipboard would be cool (http://www.coolest-gadgets.com.....clipboard/), but like many others, the act of taking notes is actually more important for me than what the notes say. I tend not to remember the actual words that I wrote down in a lecture, but what the lecturer was saying at the time that I wrote on a particular spot on the page.

By: Erin

Erin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:30:27 +0000

I’ve got to agree with the anti-laptop crowd. I’m in engineering and none of my core classes have type-able notes. There are too many equations and sketches.
When I have taken electives like history and philosophy, then you get people taking notes on their laptops because it’s just words. But as others have said, most of them are watching youtube and are looking at facebook, even in the front row. It’s very distracting (some even have sound!)
These types of classes are held in old buildings with old lecture halls that are not set up for laptops, so you see people fighting over outlets or sitting on the floor to get close enough to one. The long chords going across the room are a pain, and the set-up / break-down time takes away from class. The laptop people start packing up early because they can’t just stand up and go when the bell rings. Also, the seats are very close together and you can’t get around people when they have a laptop on the tiny little flip-out desk.

By: gypsypacker

gypsypacker — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:37:41 +0000

I have the Lenovo with the 80GB hard drive. It is a business model which cost me $700 last Xmas and it is now on Tiger Direct for $400. I’ve dropped it, hit its little corners, and it is apparently indestructible except for a “fan error ” warning.

Now, the bad(?) news–Lenovo is coming out with a 160 GB/2GB memory mini-computer in September, for $500. Sounds great, if it’s as tough as its cousin.

Best way to take notes is with a digital voice recorder with USB, then transcribe later. Find the textbook online if you can, then use Notepad to cut and paste study topics etc.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:57:24 +0000

I’m an undergraduate and I’ve found that one of the benefits of a laptop is being able to take it to a quiet place to do work. Especially when it comes to writing papers. I still take notes the old fashioned way though, because it works better for me.

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:24:35 +0000

I really have to disagree with the lot of you who say that teaching isn’t about the students. If an instructor cannot motivate a student to learn, then the teacher has failed to do his or her job. It takes an insane amount of energy to be a student-focused teacher, but it is the only type of instructor a student deserves.

Teaching is like any other industry. You have a client who hires you for your services. If you fail to deliver the product to the client’s specifications, then you have failed to do your job and should lose the account. You should do everything in your power to deliver the product: work long hours, seek out the best materials, present the information in the best way for the audience, etc. Shotty products are shotty products, regardless of if they are in an ivory tower.

By: Malthusan

Malthusan — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:01:19 +0000

Err…to clarify, I allow laptops in my class, but I don’t encourage them. Heh. Nothing like posting a rant online to teach one some humility.

By: Malthusan

Malthusan — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:00:15 +0000

I’ll chime in on the side of pen/paper note-taking. I allow them in my classes, but I don’t encourage them for a variety of reasons. As has been mentioned, they’re often a distraction, both for other students and for me. Furthermore, they encourage transcription rather than note-taking. A good typist can transcribe an entire lecture in real-time, but, what good does that do? There’s no time for reflection or thought when you’re busy trying to capture every word. Pen/paper requires students to listen, think, and write — three activities that are fundamental to learning. Good notes aren’t a word-for-word reproduction of the material presented in a class; they’re a synthesis of the material that is taken and the ideas and connections they inspire. Obviously, a good note-taker will be able to do this on a laptop as well, perhaps even faster, but I’m not sure one can learn to be a good note taker solely on a laptop/computer.

Outside of class, however, a laptop can be a fantastic tool and resource.

Also, and this is just me being contrary, I’m a teacher, not an entertainer. I’m interested in and excited about what I’m teaching, but I’m not a clown or a stand-up comic, and my job isn’t to provide another source of entertainment. My job is to teach and to help students learn, and if it’s boring sometimes, well, learning’s freakin’ hard (otherwise there wouldn’t be so many idiots around) and it requires some commitment on the part of the student to make any progress.

By: jes

jes — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:38 +0000

Until I read Marion’s post I, like consumer_q, would of suggested the digital pen. Now I’ll split the difference & join the others saying a tablet is the way to go. (For if I had to get a new laptop, I’d definitely be gunning for a tablet.)

As for for PC’s being hard and Mac’s being easy, don’t they say similar things about the paths to heaven and hell. (Currently using PC’s but have used Mac’s & Linux/Unix.)

Found these PC vs Mac commercials spoof’s quite entertaining as I was crafting my comment: http://www.youtube.com/view_pl.....DC7559526D.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:54:59 +0000

I can’t take effective notes on a laptop. I’m a kinesthetic learner; the actual motion of the notetaking is enough to stick most of it in my brain, and I use lots of arrows and circles and other meaningful doodles. Many times I don’t even have to look back at what I actually wrote.

I find the screens very distracting in a lecture situation, much as I find TVs distracting in restaurants and bars. But that’s me. If you can take effective notes that way, go for it.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:55:00 +0000

@timgray

lol. PC support is expensive? Mac’s by definition are expensive. Your $590 PC is comparable to a $1800 mac. If defragging is beyond one’s abilities, I’d advise them to stay off the internet (maybe even remove the network card), lest they get an email from an African diplomat offering them money:(

Computers are like real life, you don’t get viruses/spyware if you don’t associate with the seedy parts of town.

I find that people who use PC’s are better at fixing computer problems. And yes, mac’s have their share of problems…they just don’t know what to do when it happens.

Back on point though, tablets are the way to go for note taking. The handwriting recognition converts your scribbles into searchable text and you can draw graphs and figures to your hearts content. When the prof tries to go back and change what he wrote, it’s much easier on a computer. Battery life/turn on time are the main drawbacks. Keep your files short though, if you create an extended file (months of writing in the same file) it may overrun the memory and cause slow operation or a crash.