Ipad or classical textbook for notes?

[DasTohl]

Hi,
I want your opinion regarding modern notetaking technology. Is it better than using the classical pen & paper? As a physics student it would be an advantage to save my notes in the cloud.

 

[mcastillo356]

Welcome, I'm quite aged (57) so I choose old-fashioned paper. I think it depends on the amount of the information. If you are serious, save in the cloud

 

[DasTohl]

Welcome, I'm quite aged (57) so I choose old-fashioned paper. I think it depends on the amount of the information. If you are serious, save in the cloud

Thanks! I also prefer old-fashoned paper. And compared to an ipad, it never runs out of battery ;)

 

[robphy]

For me, I work on various handwritten calculations... sometimes based on a passages from a book or paper.
With a digital notebook, it is easier for me to include graphics and calculations from (say) wolframalpha or Maple, etc... I can more easily resize and re-color my handwritten calculations and drawings. I can copy portions... especially if working on a long algebraic derivation.

In my digital documents, I use a stylus and the handwritten ink is in a format that is treated like "digital ink"... as opposed to merely marks (as if done with a paint program).

I can stop and resume later... and I could organize digital documents better than sheets of paper.
I can (and have) gone back to old calculations that I had put aside many years ago...
(I also have found old calculations on paper that have the pencil marks smeared. It was in an old box that was stored away. By contrast, calculations on digital documents can be easily replicated and carried around on a flashdrive or kept in the cloud.)

I've been using a tabletPC since they came out (around 2003).
(Here's an old thread https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...science-teaching-blog-entry-from-2006.767963/ ). I have lecture notes from courses I have taught since then... they came from the board notes in class I wrote using my tabletPC and a projector. (I uploaded pdfs to the course-management website.)

Of course, do whatever is more comfortable or more convenient.
I have gone the digital route. Certainly, at times, I use paper... but many more times, I work digitally.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Have you tried this? Most people can write much faster using pen and paper.

 

[Klystron]

Have you tried this? Most people can write much faster using pen and paper.

I was taught that physically writing notes aided memory retention better than typing.

 

[DaveC426913]

For me, being highly visual, layout is a very strong tool for organizing thoughts/notes.
Text size, location, heaviness, etc. say as much about the information I'm writing as the words.
So a pen and paper are far more rich and expressive than typing.

Also, when not actually writing, I can mindlessly doodle in the margins, which is critical.