Is It Necessary?

[osi2011]

Hi all! I start my nursing program this fall 2014 and I have been reading this forum religiously to get different tips on being prepared for school....however I have been confused to whether if it's necessary to purchase an ipad for school. My hubby wants to get one but I have been hesitant to make that expensive purchase.

For the students who have ipads, do you feel it makes your life easier for studying and note taking?

[christina731]

I have an iPad as well as a 12" laptop. I use the iPad in class to reference things and for ebooks if the software is compatible. All of my books from 1st and 2nd semester were on it (with pageburst software) and I hardly used the hard copies. For 3rd semester the books were with a different publisher and one didn't have an ebook, the other was not compatible with iOS so I didn't use it for much besides googling and such while at school. I take all of my notes the old fashioned way with a pen and paper so I can't help you with the note taking ability. I usually only use the laptop for typing papers.

I would check with your school to see if they allow the use of electronics in class/clinical before you invest. I would also make sure that if your school has an online learning management system that it's compatible as well. I never had any apple products before nursing school because the system that the school used was not compatible. When I started nursing school, they switched to a new system which was compatible. Now my iPad (which I'm using right now ) is like my right arm, I take it everywhere except clinical where I don't have a safe place to store it.