NOTES...how do you take yours?

LabRat3 · Jun 2, 2015

I prefer pen and paper. Allows me to draw pictures or diagrams quickly and then I go back and type them out. This study reaffirms my belief that I retain the info better this way:

Ditch the laptop and pick up a pen, class. Researchers say it’s better for note taking. - The Washington Post

Not everybody learns the same way though!

jaycam, RN · Jun 3, 2015

I use a Surface with the stylus and OneNote 2013. Best of both worlds. I can organize, tag, and send my notes easily, add or draw pictures and get the advantages of handwriting my notes

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Jun 3, 2015

I have to physically write it out during. Typing used to be my preferred method but in my old age it seems that my brain is more resistant to that. I have to do it during the lecture or I might as well not go at all.

AspiringNurseMW · Jun 3, 2015

I guess that I am the minority here. I am still a fan of the old-fashioned pen and paper note taking. I find that muscle memory is important for me to retain information, and if I physically write it down, I am more likely to retain the information.

Nope, I totally found this true during my prerequisites. If I typed up notes I was pretty much typing verbatim and starting spacing out. Writing things by hand helps me retain and process, especially because I'm trying to make things fit which forces me to re word them.

FLCrackerPN · Jun 3, 2015

I found that I retain more of the information if I hand write my notes. I also use a voice recorder for added security so that I can go back and replay something if I missed it the first time. :)

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 3, 2015

I took notes the old fashioned way: pen & paper

I tried typing on my laptop for one class (Mental Health). I found I got distracted more easily with the laptop. Too tempting to browse the internet when losing interest in the lecture. Pen & paper kept me focused and I felt I retained more info when I had to physically write it down instead of type.

Aliareza, BSN · Jun 3, 2015

Basically any pen that came in a gazillion different colors, I had. Pilot G2s, Papermate Flairs, Staedtler fine liners, you name it. The thinner the point, the better -- the pre-printed powerpoints didn't often leave us a lot of room to write! I'd take notes in black or blue standard inks during the lecture and then go home and fill the powerpoint up with colorful notes of my own. It was my way of rehashing what was already there and summarizing it to give me something to breeze through once I went back to study. Plus, the color associations helped me on tests because my memory is semi-photographic. As someone else said, it also forced me to actually pay attention while I wrote. I can type at 100-120 wpm, but I don't have to put any focus into that, so I saved it for mindless things like clinical paperwork and typing up drugs for the billionth time .

thenightnurse456 · Jun 3, 2015

I have to write things out or it just won't stick.

canigraduate · Jun 3, 2015

I started out handwriting notes, but it took too long (my instructors were FAST). I realized that I barely ever looked at my notes, anyway.

I recorded all the lectures for the rest of my classmates, so I started listening to the recordings and taking notes on a whiteboard. I didn't waste any paper that way while I was affixing the information in my mind.

PATEL139 · Jun 3, 2015

I guess I am still old fashion, I use pencil and paper.

PATEL139 · Jun 3, 2015

I am Register Nurse and currently working on my BS. I am taking nursing informatics. I have used some used computers and other technology in my career but never thought that I was using just a advance technology to do patient care. What are you feeling for technology being use for patient care and how effective is it?

HisKonstantine · Jun 3, 2015

I do a combo of both. I like to have my laptop open with the pre-printed lecture notes up. I also have a hard copy that I use to write, highlight, draw, etc. If there's something that I can't write fast enough, don't have enough space, or just need to type, I have that option as well.

When I get home, I combine everything to make a single packet of lecture material. Then I turn those into a single outline for exams. It's been working so far so I'm sticking to it. :up: