How do you take NOTES in class during Nursing Scool?

[NursingStoodent]

I am starting Nursing School in January and I am trying to figure out how to take notes once classes start. I have a windows 8 laptop and would like to do all my note taking on the laptop. During pre-nursing I used to see students taking notes on their computers and iPads and tablets all the time. I have no idea how they do it and I have never taken notes on my computer before. My typing speed is okay... not too bad. So my question to all fellow students is exactly how do you take and organize your notes using a laptop?

Is it easier to take notes on a laptop or a tablet or iPad or good 'ol pen and paper? I dont have a tablet so any advise on which kind to buy would be helpful as well!

Is there an app you download to take notes or do u just type away in a word document (which I dont think I am going to like too much)?

I like recording my lectures while I am taking notes. Is there a way to not record the clicking sounds of the keyboard while you type?

I love my paper, pen, and notebook but sometimes during lectures it get to be too much to write and since I like to type I want to give this new method a try. Plus I want to be able to share and print my notes as well.

Ideally I would like to be able to record my lecture, and type my notes while having the flexibility to draw out diagrams and insert tables within my notes.

Any advise regarding which apps I should use or how I should record my lectures or take and organize my notes would be helpful!!

[EmergencyChocolate]

I take very few notes - I find that the more I write, the more I miss during the lecture. I only write down the following:

+ highly emphasized concepts

+ tables/diagrams the professor writes on the board that are not found in the textbook/powerpoints

+ any information that I don't recognize/recall from the textbook/powerpoints

+ anything that starts with "You need to know for the exam..." or "You don't need to know for the exam..."

Recording lectures is a great idea - you can listen to them while you are driving, travelling, etc.

[NursingStoodent]

Get dragon naturally speaking. It converts verbal words to written words. :)

Sounds pretty neat to have all the words your teacher speaks during lecture to convert into a written format. Would make life as a student so much easier! Is this an app? I searched for it but could not find it. Have you used this before? And does it convert all types of speaking styles to actual words? I want to try this if I can find it.

[NursingStoodent]

All my classes provided powerpoints so I would only write/type out information that was covered but NOT on the powerpoints. Then, when I got home, I typed out all the information in an organized fashion, adding in charts/pictures/etc.

Not only does it sound like a good idea but you can pay attention to the lecture instead of scribbling away the entire time during lecture. Also your idea of typing out all the information after school is a great way to learn the material and jot down any questions. Thanks!

[NursingStoodent]

Im going to start RN program this January also. To start with, Im not into these all hi-tech gadgets and technologies. My husband gave me an Ipad last year and a surface RT as his early christmas gift to me for this year. He told me about one note where u can organize notes from work, school, personal etc. im still playing with it and let me tell you..im looking forward to using thjs one note. I think your laptop should have ot since its microsoft. Try it! Goodluck to you!

I also discovered OneNote when I started this thread and I am playing around with it. So far it seems promising and I am also looking forward to using it. I also like the fact that it syncs to the sky drive and you can access it from anywhere. I am still learning to use it and hope it turns out to be what I need it to be.

[wirehead]

Nothing beats an old fashioned pen and paper.

[NursingStoodent]

Same as Smoup. I brought the Powerpoints to class, then added notes to them, then compiled a study guide from my notes. I never brought my laptop to class, though.

I think I will do just the same but try it on my laptop first. In case it does not work out I will print out the PPT and add my own hand written notes.

[NursingStoodent]

My Microsoft Surface keyboard can be completely silenced. It's regular sized but flat, so that takes some getting used to - but I'm pretty speedy on it now. Battery life is remarkable & it comes with Office runs all Windows apps without problems. Love it so much I bought extra (click on) keyboard/covers in several colors!

Hmmm... I have a Lenovo ideapad. I can hear all the clicks and I tried recording using a couple different apps but the clicks are very prominent.

[NursingStoodent]

I record lectures on my iPad and annotate powerpoints with Notability. If my professor doesn't use PPs, I usually use OneNote on my laptop and record while I type notes in outline form. I like the syncing capability.

Does OneNote NOT allow you to annotate power points? I have not tried it but its making me think now! Thanks for this post and your input now so I can look into my options for directly working on annotating my PPT's.

[NursingStoodent]

I tried the laptop thing and it didn't work at all for me, but there's MANY students who do! I'd also record lectures if I was allowed so I can note anything I missed.

Can you please share why the laptop thing did not work for you? I am really looking forward to finally be ready to use technology to aid in my note taking. I like pen and paper but I want to try something different.

[NursingStoodent]

Evernote! It's free and you can download it on all your devices so you can carry your notes with you everywhere (which I often use to study). It's really great for typing your notes, and you can record audio and video too. If you get the app on your phone you can take pictures of handwritten notes or handouts and it'll upload them so you can keep everything together.

I tried Evernote just in the past couple days and I did not like it. Maybe I need to play around with it a bit. OneNote can also be downloaded on all your devices and viewed on the go. I have yet to figure out how to record my audios and videos on it. I like how you mentioned that evernote can take pictures of handwritten notes and upload to your notes. I think I like that feature.

[NursingStoodent]

OneNote! It records the lecture and sync's wherever the lecture is to what you're typing, so later on you can click on any typed note and it will play the lecture starting at the point you typed that thing. You can add in diagrams, web pages, etc. It's awesome!!

Wow! I am excited now. You must tell me how to record the lectures on OneNote and is there something you need to do like keep on a particular setting to make the audio play where I type in the note?

Also how do you deal with the clicking of the keyboard sounds? I need to minimize those sounds.

[NursingStoodent]

I bought a digital audio recorder that I could download the audio files to my computer.

That may have to be an option if the clicking sounds get too much in the way of my lectures. Which kind of recorder do you have and how much does it cost?