The Quest for the Perfect Notetaking Medium

This essay was branched from Laptops for Students and E-Note Taking to restrict the focus to just note taking - in order to use it for a College Application

Over the last few months, I have tried transition my note taking over to a computer. This essay is about my experiences trying to find the perfect note-taking medium. It is based on both my experiences at Haverford High School, and the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence in Information, Society & Technology at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In both of these programs I used my own Fujitsu T4220 Tablet PC running Microsoft OneNote. The convertible tablet allowed me to either type or hand-write my notes using a special pen from Wacom.

Computer

Carrying a computer around in the first place is really useful in school. I am able to quickly look up words I don't know in an online dictionary. I can research more information about a topic by Google-ing or reading an encyclopedia. I remain connected to the outside world with email and the news. I can maintain my to-do list in one places as it is automatically synchronized between computers. I can get a quicker start writing papers, because I can start typing whenever I get inspiration, not when I get home.

But the most useful part of having a laptop is the ability to collaborate. During a group project, I can write or type what we talk about and then in 4 clicks, email it to the group. For the Decades Project, I set up a group discussion forums, where we could all post ideas. However, at this point in time, my other group members were not carrying around laptops. This slowed the discussion down, but it was still beneficial for me to have a laptop because I could integrate group member's work into our project when they sent it to me. This streamlines my day because I can take care of a simple task as it comes up, not save it for the end of the day, which I feel is less efficient.

OneNote Rocks!

For actual note taking, I use Microsoft OneNote 2007. Using OneNote to organize notes is awesome. I really grew into liking OneNote. It allows you to import content from anywhere, annotate that content, and then organize and search it.

You can import content into OneNote by pasting it in, clipping a section of the screen, or using its virtual printer to "print" it into your notebook. If the teacher made any of their notes avaloibel online, I could input them directly into OneNote. I could then annotate them and build upon them by adding my own. In addition, I could easily paste in research that I found online. I could then "scan" it as I was taught in World Cultures by Mr. Cobb. "Scanning" means highlighting important parts and writing notes in the margin which come to mind. This technique helps me read better.

In addition, with e-Notes, you can easily add things including more space to write. With paper, if you want to add a line between 2 lines you already wrote you have 3 options:

1. cram it in - writing small and illegibly
2. write it somewhere else and draw an arrow
3. add it at the end and now your notes are out of order

With E-Notes you can rearrange and add notes, just like any document on the computer. You can also add space, for example with my "scanning" technique on paper I would have to cram my notes in the margin, on OneNote, I can add space between paragraphs and I have as much space as I want.

It is also easy to share notes with OneNote. For example, if someone missed a day of class, it is just 2 or 3 clicks to send them the notes. There is no need to track down a copy machine or transcribe them. However, transcribing the notes could be beneficial, however, if it forces you to actually read the notes.

The alternative for OneNote for many, is to write each day's notes in Microsoft Word. The problem with this is that your notes are not organized and are scattered around in a bunch of Word files. With OneNote you can organize your notes into sections which are part of Notebooks. There is nothing to open, as everything is there. In addition, you can quickly search a section, notebook, or all notebooks for a keyword. With Word this is impossible, unless you use some sort of external desktop search.

Ink. Useful?

(is a tablet useful?) After using a tablet PC with ink capabilities, I am recognizing that ink is more of a gimmick. I am using the pen less than when I first got my tablet. It is much slower to actually write on my computer than it is to type. Even just surfing the web feels faster using a trackpad. So I have found that when I am taking notes from scratch, typing is faster than writing using ink.

However I find that ink is useful in 2 cases, for drawling diagrams and writing on other documents. Drawling using a pen is much faster than creating diagrams using the drawling tools in Microsoft Office or even making something in Photoshop. I need diagrams because, as a visual learner, I need to see things, and diagrams are the most efficient way to communicate. There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. I can draw in 30 seconds (and have it digitally stored) what would take me 5 min using draw tools.

In addition, when I get other content either from a teacher or off the internet, it is very helpful to be able to draw on top of them. First of all using existing notes lets me skip recording the basic information and write more advanced notes. Plus being able to write on top of lets me add stuff without disturbing the original and lets me see where my notes stop and the given ones start.

In my AP Psychology class, the teacher handed out PowerPoints of each chapter in the beginning of the year. I did not have my tablet then, but I used this "write on top of" strategy on printer paper PowerPoints as I read the textbook. I found it very useful, because as a visual learner, I was able to connect my notes I created with the PowerPoint the teacher went over in class. As the teacher went over the slides, I added additional what he said around the margin of the slide he was talking about. Using this method, I had all of my notes in one place. I started with the basic information already printed, and added helpful explanations from the textbook, and finally I added the useful stories the teacher gave, all on 1 stack of paper.

Biology

I also found this method useful in Biology, class except that I did it with ink on a tablet and not on the computer. This main advantage I found on using a computer is that I am able to easily add space. On paper, you have 8 inches by 11 inches to take notes. If you need more space for one more line, you are out of luck. However, in OneNote, you can easily add space between slides. You can add as much space as you want. In addition, as I mentioned before, the notes are then easy to share, as you can email a PDF print out to any one with only a few clicks.

In my Biology class, I used my laptop the most. This was because the other students in the class used laptops provided by the school. The teacher taught mostly from PowerPoints, some of which she also made available on her website. The class also included quick internet research and drew material from the web.

In my other classes that semester, the teacher did not let students use the provided laptops most of the time and taught mostly from a textbook or their own experience, and they did not use PowerPoint or the internet much. They also relied a lot on worksheets.

Gov School

In the summer of 2008, I attended the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence in Information, Society & Technology at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The Governor's Schools are free 5-week summer programs paid for by the Pennsylvania state government. They are open to rising high school seniors, and in some programs, rising high school juniors. There are 8 subject areas, each one held at a different universities and colleges throughout the state. Tuition, as well as room and board, is paid for by the state. The entire program is at no cost to the student. Admission is very competitive because, unlike most for-profit summer camps that tend to accept anyone willing to pay, there is no financial barrier to entry.

The reason I purchased the tablet was to try out how to streamline my note taking for college and I thought the Gov School as a college precursor would be a good experience for me. I decided to do all electronic notes. This strategy is easier when most of the class is electronic, for instance, the professor gives out his or her notes or PowerPoints online, or if information from the internet needs to be added. For example, in Linux System Admin class, I imported tutorials from the internet into OneNote and highlighted the important steps and added notes in the margin. However, if the class gives out paper, it makes things harder. For instance, in UML/Systems Design class, the professor gave out his PowerPoints on paper. I found it is best to make the notes on top of the printed PowerPoint with a pen, and not make any notes in the computer, and then scan in the notes into my notebook at the end of the week. I realize that the scanning part is a major drag, however I've gotten better at it. I can scan about 50 page in an hour while also doing something else.

What I am trying to avoid is splitting my notes among paper and computer. I really want one centralized repository for my notes.

Some of the professors made their PowerPoints available and I wrote on top of them in OneNote. When notes were not given, I typed into OneNote.

Prof. Song, the UML/Systems professor at Drexel's Graduate School in Information Science said that I would "graduate suma cum laude from Harvard" due to the quality of my notes.

Paper vs Computer

I am currently debating which I will use next year. I've gotten quite good at making an organized paper notebook. I've been doing it for 5 years and I am proud of my organized binders, which neatly contain every paper handed out from the year or notes for every chapter of the textbook, even if it is not required to take them. I've even published some of my methods, for instance, my Headline Notetaking Format I developed in American Studies. E-Notes, even in ink, I think do not look as nice.

On the other hand, the computer has many advantages, such as the ability to easily include text and pictures from the internet.

What I think it comes down to however, is that paper notebooks work best when there are many handouts and worksheets (a more "strict" class). On the other hand, if much of the class happens on the computer already, or if adding information from the internet is vital, a E-notebook is better. (a more loose class)

(talk more about strict and loose, remove the duplicate from gov school)

If neither paper notes or worksheets are handed out, and the internet is not a big component of the class, then it is more of a toss-up. Paper notes look nicer, and I might get distracted on the computer. On the other hand, computer notes are easier to save, search, and share.

Paper	Computer
Heavy	Not heavy, use once
Uses paper	Uses electricity
Not easily searched	Easily searched
Does not crash	May break down
Not easy to backup	Easy to backup
I am more neat with it	Bit of a distraction
Find a copy machine	Easy to share

Notes in General

I hardly never go back and read them. Just the act of writing them helps (like Dr. Reilly). ThePlaz.com has turned out to be a trick for me to make my notes neat and organized (something I struggled with in Middle School) because I knew that I would have to scan, tag, organize, and post them for others to read.