Andi

Taking notes on a computer isn’t for everyone. I know I don’t take computer notes for all my classes, but this semester I find myself using it for a majority of them. Now I’m not saying taking notes on your laptop is the best option, but sometimes it’s necessary. So, here’s some reasons and tips for taking notes while on your computer!

1. When taking notes in Microsoft word, use the notes template! It’s a lot easier to keep organized by using the tabs than trying to basically write a paper.
2. Odds are, you can type faster than you can write by hand. So, while your professors speed through their lectures to get through all the material, you won’t fall behind. After 3 years I’ve found it’s easier to get the information down and go back and read it to fully understand, than to let yourself fall behind and giving yourself serious anxiety when you realized you didn’t take notes down on a certain topic.
3. You can skip around. Unlike notebook paper, you can go back and add things in without it crowding up your page. When you hand write and you want to go back and add information, you might not have room. Plus, professors will usually skip around or refer back to other topics, so skipping around lets you have all the information in one place instead of digging through all of your notes.
4. Another great thing is to bold, or italicize important information. You can even highlight or change the font color, where with writing by hand you’re pretty limited on what you can do to make information stand out.
5. Another bonus? You can easily add pictures, tables, or graphs into your notes. Many professors post their slides online so you can pull the pictures they use straight into your own notes. How easy is that?
6. The biggest tip I could ever stress to some is save frequently. Sometimes you might be in a rush to get to your class, so you shut your laptop and go. If you exit out of the document in your next class and you forgot to save? You’re out of luck. I have a Mac so ‘command S’ is my best friend. I’m constantly using that shortcut to make sure I’m saving All. The. Time.

Now, this may seem like I’m a notebook hater, but I’m not. Nothing is better than being able to flip through pages, and it makes the studying process a lot easier. But given the amount of information I’m trying to get down all at once, I typically find a computer is the way to go. You just have to be extra careful to stay off all those social media websites, the less distractions the better. If you find yourself wandering off onto the Internet too frequently, either sit closer to the front, or go back to hand written notes. If you’re going to go to class and not paying attention, why did you even bother showing up? So, best of luck Hawkeyes, get all those notes down, and rock those midterms.

Go Hawks!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 7:47 am and is filed under Academics, General, and tagged with midterms, note-taking, notes, study tips, studying. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.