What's the best way to take notes in class?

baktrax
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 02:19:09 +0000

I haven’t used a notebook for years. I used one occasionally for my classes as a freshman, but in my later years, I switched pretty much entirely over to electronic notes. If it’s a class that I can type notes easily in (like history, psychology, etc), I would type my notes on my laptop (and when I got an iPad + keyboard, I started using that to take all my notes). For classes where it was easier to hand write the notes or where the professor handed out slides, I used my iPad for notes and I wrote directly onto the slides.

You’ll figure out a system that works best for you in college. In general, I recommend that if you’re comfortable typing notes to use your computer for humanities or some social science classes. Handwriting seems to work best for math, physics, chemistry, or classes with a lot of symbols and drawings. I used my tablet but pen and paper works just as well. If you’re professor posts the slides ahead of time, it’s easiest to print them out and write directly on them.

Also note that some professors don’t allow computers in their classroom (relatively rare in my experience, but not unheard of) and some don’t allow students to record their lectures or take pictures of their slides. I would respect their wishes and refrain from recording the lecture because they have a right not to be recorded if they don’t want to be (for whatever reason). Your school may have a note-taking service that you can either pay for or is provided free for students with disabilities. Your school may also provide recordings of the lectures if the professor agrees to it, and then you may not have to record them yourself.