I start nursing school next month and have been debating whether or not get a new laptop/tablet for class or just print out presentations and take notes that way.
I wanted to get feedback from those that have been there and see what suggestions you can offer me. I have a desktop and an older laptop that is big screened and heavy so neither of those would work for class. haha. What did you find worked best for you?
I've seen students take both approaches. Personally, I find I retain the info better with pen and paper. You can print out PP slides, if provided, and make notes on those. The advantage of paper is that you can also draw pictures, graphs, diagrams, etc.
Many nursing students take notes in class, and then as part of studying for the exam, redo the notes to reinforce learning.
Thank you all very much for your responses! I am a big fan of taking notes but hate to think how often I will be printing out power point presentations!
I have found that I can upload PPs to onenote, record the lecture, and still take notes on the actual slides that I can print later, if needed. Makes me feel a little bit better about being wasteful and I get to still hand write notes so I can retain information better.
I can definitely type faster, so I used my laptop during the lectures (our power points often weren't available right away to print out beforehand). I would always go back over everything after the lecture and handwrite notes to help cement the information.
I prefer handwritten notes (I remember bettee) but it wastes time. So I type my notes instead, print tthem out, then hand write little notes in the margins and underline/highlight points.
I would invest in a laptop, but write all the notes by hand. if the prof. is speaking too fast, then type everything on the laptop and write down all your notes after class. It is better to write notes by hand than typing anyways, you will be able to retain the information much better that way.
shibaowner, MSN, RN, NP
3 Articles; 583 Posts
I've seen students take both approaches. Personally, I find I retain the info better with pen and paper. You can print out PP slides, if provided, and make notes on those. The advantage of paper is that you can also draw pictures, graphs, diagrams, etc.
Many nursing students take notes in class, and then as part of studying for the exam, redo the notes to reinforce learning.