iPad Pro for lecture notes and studying?

Cindyel, ASN, RN · Dec 18, 2017

That is the exact set up I use and it is working for me. I send all of my powerpoints to Notability and use the Apple Pencil to write notes on the slides. Faster than taking notes in a notebook. I purchased a case with a keyboard which I highly recommend.

tmccstu2018 · Dec 18, 2017

Awesome! Is it possible to upload the powerpoints to notability directly from downloading them on the iPad? Or do you have to upload them to notability on a separate computer?

Cindyel, ASN, RN · Dec 18, 2017

You can upload them directly from the ipad pro. Easy Peasy!!

dread_pirate_roberts · Dec 18, 2017

Agree with all of the above - not to mention, you can record lectures on notability (provided you have permission from your instructors to do so). I love having my iPad Air for notetaking, it takes my notes down from an entire large 3-ring binder to just the size of my iPad (you should see the stuff my paper-using classmates lug around). Just make sure you back it up!

S7ud3n7_Nur53 · Dec 20, 2017

I love using an iPad for school purposes.

Only thing to beware is that flash is not supported on the iPad. So if your school uses web-based ebooks or other flash-based learning tools, it might be more beneficial to look at laptops instead. You might want to look into the book options and learning tools at your school's program.

tmccstu2018 · Dec 21, 2017

Yeah it seems like it will be super great to take notes with. I just got myself a keyboard for it as well. I think it'll keep me so organized and productive. I don't know how the ebooks are yet so I really hope it works on it. Either way I have hard copy books just incase

75Gallons · Dec 25, 2017

Love my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for nursing school. I use Notability to record lectures and take notes on the Power Point slides. I sold my laptop. Don't have to carry it around. I can take it to clinical and have care plan information right at my fingertips. It's the best investment I've made for this program.

Lipoma, BSN, RN · Dec 25, 2017

A lot of my classmates utilize the iPad 2017 and iPad pro for note taking. I tried it...but hated it so now I only use my iPad to take my exams. I print out the lecture slides prior to every class.

It's a pretty good setup because you can multitask and do everything on your iPad without the need to bring your laptop to classes.

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Dec 26, 2017

I think that it is a great investment. I purchased an iPad Pro, Keyboard and a Apple Pencil recently just for this purpose. I took all my previous handwritten notes and scanned them and pull them in to my note taking program. I use Good Notes now. I'm completely paperless and I love it. It has elevated my note taking. I love that I can watch a video and take screen shots and pull them in as pictures, bring actual PowerPoints, PDFS and other docs in and annotate them. I attend Western Governen's University so all my books are digital, which mean I can save the photos from my books or screenshot the graphics. This has really helped me stay organized. My notes are always with me because I can pull them up on multiple devices!

I prefer to hand write my notes and have them digitally so this is the best of both worlds. Wish I'd discovered this sooner.

tmccstu2018 · Dec 26, 2017

Thanks for the feedback! Is studying from it just as effective as a notebook or is it distracting? My only fear is that it'll for some reason make me less susceptible to the information. I know it sounds like an exaggerated worry, but i'm just hoping I'll be able to study the notes from the screen equally to flipping through a binder.

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Dec 26, 2017

Thanks for the feedback! Is studying from it just as effective as a notebook or is it distracting? My only fear is that it'll for some reason make me less susceptible to the information. I know it sounds like an exaggerated worry, but i'm just hoping I'll be able to study the notes from the screen equally to flipping through a binder.

For me my studying is just as effective, probably more effective and I'm no more distracted than I was with my notebook. I think my studying is more effective because the quality of my notes has improved. But I have spoken with students who need to physically have a piece of paper but these are people who hate ebooks and don't do well with many electronic things. I think it will take some time to get into a good groove with your new note taking style and that part will be distracting at first. It'll be like, now you will have to think about how you will take the notes rather than just sitting down and taking them. For instance, learning the program and figuring out the functions. Deciding your format and how you want to organize your notes.. and stuff like that. Then there a ton of programs..i started with Microsoft OneNote and after a few weeks changed to Good Notes. There are other really good ones like Notability. Changing programs was distracting too.