All iPads Would an iPad and Apple Pencil make a good serious note taking device for University?

[msackey]

I have a contrarian view. Even though I have the full complement of tech devices, I use pen-and-paper to take live notes. Then, as a way to both review and pare down, I transfer an edited version of my notes to a computer or tablet.

Why? There are many reasons, including:

• I can be fully present and focused on the lecturer/speaker/discussion participants.
• I don't have to worry about batteries or tech problems in the moment.
• I don't have to worry about the only version of my notes getting corrupted or accidentally erased.
• Pen-and-paper is the quietest way to take notes.
• It's easier to make drawings, diagrams, and graphs quickly (IMHO) with pen-and-paper.

In any case, I think your field of concentration and the types of courses you take is a significant factor to consider. For example, if you will be spending a lot of time in laboratories, your needs will be very different from somebody who does mostly reading, writing, and debating.

I too agree with the view above.

There can be reasons to use an iPad for notetaking (e.g., perhaps it helps with someone's disability situation), but otherwise if a pen/pencil and notebook works well enough, I say forgo all of that fussiness with technology and go with pen/pencil and notebook. There are so many ways to be distracted by technology and so many ways for notetaking to be broken/hindered when things electronically don't go well, especially in the context of a classroom situation. This is a bit different from other situations like say a professional meeting in which you are capturing meeting minutes in which case something electronic could be not only easier but more accurate and faster. Notetaking for college does not entail recording verbatim what someone is saying but rather pre-digesting information and then essentially translating them into notetaking format.

Also, electronic notetaking is not the same as hand notetaking. There are studies to suggest that you effectively digest materials and are more present when handwriting notes on something physical rather than doing it electronically by iPad or tablet.

Also, notetaking on a tablet is not necessarily that easy especially if you are taking notes with mini-illustrations, using arrows and pointers to direct to other notes, writing down formulas, and anything that is not simply a linear alphanumeric style like typing on a typewriter. There are probably ways to learn to do it a bit more effectively on the iPad, but ask yourself why do you need the notes electronically?

Honestly, when one gets into the debate of paper notetaking vs. iPad/table notetaking, we are getting further and further away from the purpose of the notes themselves and starting to fuss around with the apparatus of the notetaking application. The important thing isn't the iPad/tablet, but actually learning.

 

[msackey]

I want to add further thoughts on notetaking ;-)

Several years ago, I studied for a professionally recognized certificate in a regulatory field. I started off using printed notes of the regulations, guidance documents, and also thought of then using pen/pencil to mark off notes on the margins of the regulations and guidance documents. I soon realized this was not an effective way to take notes and study for this particular exam, but also for my particular regulatory field.

Reason: the regulations and guidance documents are all online and often updated which means interpretations change etc.

For me, then, it was much easier to use OneNote (not on iPad though) to both cull actual regulations and guidance documents, while also having my own notes and thoughts linked to these documents. Electronic was the most accurate and easiest way to do this work. Doing it on printed paper was going to be difficult because of the amount of documents and regulations there are and the difficulty of searching through my own personal notes to find what I need.

While I can access the OneNote app on my iPad and even use that to take notes, I haven't. I use my laptop to do that.

This kind of notetaking though is different from notetaking typically needed for undergraduate-level studies.

 

[BenGoren]

I’m finishing my M.S. Statistics class in December. I’ve used my 12.9” iPad Pro w/ Apple Pencil and Notability almost exclusively for in-class notes.

Especially nice is the ability to download the professor’s PDF of lecture slides in advance, scribble directly on the slides (including highlighter, etc.) with reckless abandon, and insert blank pages with a click — and those pages are often dot grids where I can draw stuff either freeform or, with a slight pause, auto-straightened. The latter is perfect for quick-and-dirty graphs of functions, etc.

I wouldn’t recommend the iPad as a laptop replacement … but it absolutely makes a functioning emergency backup. If I had to do the whole degree with just the iPad, I could have managed.

At least a plurality, if not a majority, of my fellow students are typically also using iPads for notetaking. The rest are either using laptops or just plain not taking notes. Maybe one or two are using pencil and paper.

(Worth noting: when the lecture involves coding, the iPads generally go away and out come the laptops.)

Something else worth mentioning … also very common is to use a smartphone (or sometimes an iPad) to take a picture of a whiteboard or a projected display. Make sure that that’s okay before whipping out the phone, but it’s been welcomed for all my classes. If you have an old phone with a low-res camera, be sure to sit in the front row so you don’t have to zoom as much. (This a supplement to notetaking, not an alternative — for example, if the instructor draws a particularly complicated sketch at lightning speed and you can’t keep up, or is scrolling faster through code than you can type.)

I see many have recommended pencil-and-paper followed by some method for manually getting those notes into the computer as part of your studying. If you have the luxury of time plus the self-discipline for that sort of thing, fantastic. But for me personally it wouldn’t at all be realistic. Pretty much everybody around me is in constant triage mode … we’re all juggling what to work on when based on due dates and significance and difficulty. We all have our heads above water, mostly … but the last thing any of us would do would be to add to our burdens, even if it would make for more effective learning in the long run.

That’s another point worth mentioning to close. You’ll be drinking from a firehose. Much of what you cover in class won’t stick … but it’ll come back — plus, you’ll remember the general idea and be able to re-learn the details very quickly when you do need it. And there’ll be huge swaths of really important stuff that you never get to dive into in the first place. So plan on, even after you have the degree, spending your newly rediscovered free time catching up on all the stuff you wish you had learned properly while in school.

b&

 

[TRDmanAE86]

Honestly it depends on your preference and course type. By owning a touchscreen convertible laptop and the newest iPad Pro (each with their respective Bluetooth Pens), I've come to the conclusion that each has their time to shine.

For editing documents and stuff (PowerPoint, word etc), I prefer the laptop due to formatting being much better.

For freehand note taking, drawing figures, (especially math related courses) I tend to rely on the iPad much more due to the apple pencil having much more versatility than my Dell one and, the screen being easier to write on.

I also find the iPad better for looking at documents quickly while doing assignments.

 

[RickTaylor]

As an instructor, I use an iPad as a virtual whiteboard, using the pencil to write on it and connecting it to a projector (for an in person class) or Zoom (for an online class). It works very well for that, The main limitation for me is the pencil is slippery against the glass, even with a screen protector. I've been thinking of trying out the Supernote, which reportedly is easier to write neatly upon, and which has lots of functionality set up to organize notes. It's also purely an e-reader/note-taker, which makes it less distracting to use.

 

[gl0r]

I too agree with the view above.

There can be reasons to use an iPad for notetaking (e.g., perhaps it helps with someone's disability situation), but otherwise if a pen/pencil and notebook works well enough, I say forgo all of that fussiness with technology and go with pen/pencil and notebook. There are so many ways to be distracted by technology and so many ways for notetaking to be broken/hindered when things electronically don't go well, especially in the context of a classroom situation. This is a bit different from other situations like say a professional meeting in which you are capturing meeting minutes in which case something electronic could be not only easier but more accurate and faster. Notetaking for college does not entail recording verbatim what someone is saying but rather pre-digesting information and then essentially translating them into notetaking format.

Also, electronic notetaking is not the same as hand notetaking. There are studies to suggest that you effectively digest materials and are more present when handwriting notes on something physical rather than doing it electronically by iPad or tablet.

Also, notetaking on a tablet is not necessarily that easy especially if you are taking notes with mini-illustrations, using arrows and pointers to direct to other notes, writing down formulas, and anything that is not simply a linear alphanumeric style like typing on a typewriter. There are probably ways to learn to do it a bit more effectively on the iPad, but ask yourself why do you need the notes electronically?

Honestly, when one gets into the debate of paper notetaking vs. iPad/table notetaking, we are getting further and further away from the purpose of the notes themselves and starting to fuss around with the apparatus of the notetaking application. The important thing isn't the iPad/tablet, but actually learning.

I finally converted to a full iPad experience this semester. I started with a PC laptop and a Wacom tablet. Luck and ingenuity led me to iPad. Although I’m not completely sold my Apple Pencil doesn’t have a glitch, it has withstood one whole semester of writing and still holds a charge for two days.

I went completely paperless in my home after hoarding totes full of journals and academic papers for about 16 years. There were, and still are, challenges to learning. However, I have decided to adapt. My imagination always saw this as a possible course with technology so it was not that difficult to replace the typewriter in my head with a tablet.

I use my iPad 9th gen to write. I use an iPad mini 4 to store my ebooks. I have a Acer vivobook (sorry, can’t afford a Mac). The screen on the 9th gen was replaced, so I am not sure if the landscape orientation writing is the only way I can write or if the portrait orientation is glitched to near impossible writing. As a result, I only move paper up which I used to do in real life when i would move my notebook on the table to write along the bottom third of a page.

What I love is content storage. I probably would enjoy using the built in apps better, but my school is a Microsoft monster and I still have to type papers that are based on PC structure and format. Onenote is sync streamlined and it’s beautiful.

What I don’t like is that to have my onenote synced almost in real time, I require two apps to do what one would accomplish on an android tablet.

I love the accessories the most for the Apple Pencil. I like the weight of gen1 pencils over gen2. That was one purchase I made new, went into the store, and tried.

I know what the studies say, and I’m still convinced that relying on memory is a dubious skill. I’m 40, am exclusively non-paper, and my retention isn’t the greatest, but my production is at my fingertips to review. I never had an iPad for entertainment purposes, so I don’t get distracted with things that I mostly used with my iPhone or my laptop.

The first three semesters of school I used something like 4000 pages of paper and ink. The iPad and the Apple Pencil reduced my paper trail. Literally! It is such a functional tool. And I haven’t found anything that I have wanted to do that is limited by the operating system without using a little bit of ingenuity.

I’d like it if the Microsoft apps were more like the PC. Renaming and file moving is frustrating. But that’s probably another long post for another topic.

 

[AlmightyKang]

Glad to hear of a success story. I move back and forth between paper and iPad on a regular basis. Either way I end up scanning the paper into PDF and throwing it away. I feel like information is retained better if written on paper. Also I have an 11" iPad Pro and the A4 paper I use is much larger.

The iPad does however prevent this building up on my carpet after a day thinking 🤔

 

[RaphaZ]

Glad to hear of a success story. I move back and forth between paper and iPad on a regular basis. Either way I end up scanning the paper into PDF and throwing it away. I feel like information is retained better if written on paper. Also I have an 11" iPad Pro and the A4 paper I use is much larger.

The iPad does however prevent this building up on my carpet after a day thinking 🤔

View attachment 2352244

I also do that! It is great.

 

[okieoutwest]

I recently saw an engineering student using a remarkable and a MacBook together to do their homework. This seemed like a really good duo in terms of devices that don’t have too much overlap in input style or function.

Depending on what your major is - and what tasks you expect to do the most often - a laptop and e-ink tablet might be a better combination of tools than different input types for the same set of apps.

 

[kimjongbill]

I'm planning on entering University next year, and I've had this question for a while. Would it be ideal to replace all my notebooks for an iPad and an Apple Pencil to take notes on during lectures? It would be a portable device, and I can keep all my notes centralised as well.

I'm a fourth year med student now and I can't vouch enough for how great the iPad is as a note-taking device. I use notability (RIP free version), and it is SO NICE to be able to record what professors are saying and have it tied with the text I'm writing (so I tap on something I wrote and it will play back the corresponding audio).

I remember when I started undergrad in 2013 I went though a TON of spiral bound notebooks, and the simplicity of just carrying around an iPad is really, really nice. And you don't have to buy any more paper! I haven't bought paper in years haha. It's also really nice because it's so easy to search for your notes, and if you're given paper, you can just scan it and annotate it on the iPad as well, which is helpful because I lose things really easily. I have both the mini 6 and the 2018 12.9 Pro and honestly, you can totally get by with the mini as your only iPad, but the bigger ones are a lot nicer if you want to multitask because it gets cramped fast if you're doing split screen.

Additionally, as someone who struggles with staying on task on a Mac because it's so easy to do multitasking (i.e. getting distracted), I find that iPads are really great for being intentional with your studying because the multitasking is so bad on it haha.

You really can't go wrong with the iPad, and you certainly don't need a Pro to get the most out of it note taking! The Air would really scratch the same itch as the Pro and it'll hold up great. Best of luck, and I'd be happy to talk more about how I use it if you want!

 

[Mainsail]

I'm a fourth year med student now and I can't vouch enough for how great the iPad is as a note-taking device. I use notability (RIP free version), and it is SO NICE to be able to record what professors are saying and have it tied with the text I'm writing (so I tap on something I wrote and it will play back the corresponding audio).

I remember when I started undergrad in 2013 I went though a TON of spiral bound notebooks, and the simplicity of just carrying around an iPad is really, really nice. And you don't have to buy any more paper! I haven't bought paper in years haha. It's also really nice because it's so easy to search for your notes, and if you're given paper, you can just scan it and annotate it on the iPad as well, which is helpful because I lose things really easily. I have both the mini 6 and the 2018 12.9 Pro and honestly, you can totally get by with the mini as your only iPad, but the bigger ones are a lot nicer if you want to multitask because it gets cramped fast if you're doing split screen.

Additionally, as someone who struggles with staying on task on a Mac because it's so easy to do multitasking (i.e. getting distracted), I find that iPads are really great for being intentional with your studying because the multitasking is so bad on it haha.

You really can't go wrong with the iPad, and you certainly don't need a Pro to get the most out of it note taking! The Air would really scratch the same itch as the Pro and it'll hold up great. Best of luck, and I'd be happy to talk more about how I use it if you want!

I think it really depends on the major and individual study habits/preferences. All three of my children went through undergrad without iPads, and they did just fine in: Business, International Relations, and Math/Econ. I asked them numerous times if they would like an iPad for notes etc.., and they always declined.

However, when the middle child entered an Econ Phd program, he needed an iPad for editing and iterating formulas. In fact, before I gave him my iPad Air, he was the only Econ Phd student in the Department not using an iPad. I am not a doctor, but I can completely imagine how an iPad would be useful for Med School.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I'm planning on entering University next year, and I've had this question for a while. Would it be ideal to replace all my notebooks for an iPad and an Apple Pencil to take notes on during lectures? It would be a portable device, and I can keep all my notes centralised as well.

Personally, I've found that the 12.9" iPad Pro, paired with the Smart Keyboard Folio (or Magic Keyboard, if you want to get really fancy) is the perfect note-taking device; better than smaller iPads, iPhones, Macs, or even pen and paper. iPadOS's abysmal multi-tasking capabilities actually helps you stay focused on note-taking and to not get distracted by things like Messages, Mail, Safari, or insert-name-of-third-party-applications-here. If what you want to do is handwrite lecture notes, there are better devices out there for that. The reMarkable tablets might be better for you. Incidentally, I've also found that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S + and Ultra variants are just as good and make the current 12.9" iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard option look positively cheap by comparison. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Student of Life]

Since you are entering University, the first two years ideally will be core classes assuming you didnt take them in high school ( AP classes etc). For those classes you can get by with a computer easier, heck paper and pencil will work. It's not advance stuff. When you know what path of study you want to take, then the importance of the iPad can become more apparent. If you are doing something with advance mathematic, yes but if you want something like engineering, the computer will be more beneficial. So the better question is what field/study interest you the most now and pick accordingly to it.