Laptop vs. Pen/Paper

[mamacashew]

I am getting ready to start a nursing program in the Fall and I am wondering, what's better for note taking during lectures, a laptop or good ol' pen/paper.

I know during clinicals and labs pen/paper is probably better, but what about during lectures?

Any thoughts?

[cmonkey]

It depends. Are you a person who can make short notes and relate them to the lecture, or do you need much more detail? If the former, save your bucks and use paper. If the latter, type it out (if you're allowed to).

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Do what works for you. I prefer pencil and paper. Pen it looks too blurred together for me because i write so small so I need a sharp pencil to write. Laptop is just inviting me to not pay attention. Find what works best for you and roll with it.

[bRooklyN88]

I think pen and paper works well for me, but if I was unsure I would try to do the first week with pen and paper then the next with a laptop. Review the notes you have taken for both and then make your final decision. Hope this helps. ALSO recording lectures can be a plus if you forgot something.

[KristeyK]

For me, there's nothing like good old-fashioned pen and paper. I have to write something down in order to really learn it, so if I use the laptop in class, I won't learn. (Plus, I'll tempted to check on facebook, NOT GOOD! lol)

[soxgirl2008]

It's really just a personal preference. I use pen and paper only because using my laptop makes it too tempting for me to not pay attention and to just check my facebook lol

[Birry]

I use pencil and paper. I find that the mechanics of writing something help me remember things better. The distraction factor exists, too (there are programs that'll black out the rest of your computer while you're taking notes to help cut down on that).

But there are some really sharp programs for taking and organising notes. One that I used for a while was called Notebook by Circus Ponies (Mac only, I think). It automatically indexed your notes so you could search for keywords later, made tables of contents for you, etc. The formatting is really intuitive, too. But I just used the demo and am too cheap to pay for the whole thing.

Besides, a spiral notebook isn't nearly as tempting to a thief, I can drop it as much as I want, put it next to magnets, etc. If you do go laptop/netbook, make sure you're backing your notes up on something other than your laptop!

[guiltysins]

I like good ole notebook with colorful pens. If I need to study for an exam then sometimes I will type up my notes into a study sheet but I really need them written. For one no way in heck I feel like carrying my laptop around if I've gotta carry heavy books to class. I also always found the clicking of keys to be very annoying so I wouldn't want to annoy others with it and I type kinda loud if that makes sense LOL. Plus the temptation would be too much for me to withstand and I like to reread my notes when I'm going home or sitting for lunch and I would hate having to drag out my lappy.

Also, remember nursing classes can sometimes be 2 to 3 hours long. In some cases some of the classrooms in my school only have maybe one or two outlets and my laptop battery is HORRIBLE, it would be dead if it were unplugged for that long.

[CuriousMe]

I did both. I have a tablet computer (it's a laptop that is also a tablet computer), so I write my notes with the pen that comes with my computer right the screen. I use Microsoft OneNote, it not only indexes all the PowerPoint slides from the Prof, but also anything I write as notes. I also use OneNote to record lectures. The software automatically synchronizes my handwritten notes with the recording. So, when I'm going through my notes after class and can't figure out what I've written....there's a play button next to it that when I click on it, will start the lecture recording 5 seconds before I started writing the mystery entry.

There's a pen that does something similar.....but I would A) lose a pen and B) I'd need to buy special paper......and truthfully, for me, the main benefit of using my tablet is I don't have to manage any paper at all!

[Sand_Dollar, BSN]

I'm a pen and paper girl; I am a visual learner and tend to 'see' where the information is on the paper when I am trying to come up with an answer. I couple my notes with coded highlighting and it works great for me. However, I also use my laptop and plan on using it for Power point notes and such, I'll start using OneNotes when I do.

To bring both of my methods together I am going to be getting the 'LiveScribe' pen (it's the pen CuriousMe mentioned above). It records your handwriting along with audio concurrently and puts them onto your computer, making it all searchable.

[dcgrrl, ASN, RN]

For lecture: Pencil and paper. It seems as though the words and concepts stick better when I am forming the letters.

To reinforce difficult concepts: I'll type my handwritten notes and paraphrase them into a summary--this helps it sink in even more.

[bewitched]

I've tried both ways at University of Florida for two years, and I have to recommend pen and notebook--and not just any pen. Go to Staples/wherever and pick up a multi-color pen. Red, green, black, and blue all in one pen makes it amazingly easy to color-code notes. I tend to write vocabulary-type words in red, formulas and equations in green, important sentences in blue, and the rest of the notes in black.

If this sounds like too much work, you might write (or type) all your notes once in class, then *rewrite* them with colorcoding. For me, the more I write something, the more it sticks in my mind. Typed words just don't have the same sticking power.