How to Take Notes on Your Notebook (Computer)

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Introduction

Let’s face it, notebooks are everywhere.  I don't mean the &quot;College-Ruled, 80 sheet&quot; kind, I mean &quot;Core 2 Duo&quot; kind.  You see them in coffee shops, at work, at school, and more and more often at home.  But, many people still aren't using their &quot;notebook&quot; to replace their &quot;notebook&quot;.  The goal of this guide is to help you to understand how you can effectively use your notebook computer to take notes in any (appropriate) situation.

First we will cover some basics, like when using a notebook computer may or may not be appropriate and a few basics on how best to set your notebook to last in a meeting or class.  Then we will talk about software options and input methods. Finally, we will talk about some reasons that it might be better for you to use your notebook computer instead of a paper notebook.

Computers are rapidly becoming more and more acceptable in society. This, however, does not mean that notebook computers are acceptable in every situation.  The most common times to use a notebook for notes are probably in classes (college especially, and gradually high school) and business meetings.  There will probably be other times where notebook computers could be used, but these are the main ones that will be covered here.

Taking Notes in Class

The use of a computer in class is receiving mixed reviews by teachers and professors.  Some welcome technology as a learning aid, while others reject it because it is a distraction.  If you want to take notes on your notebook computer in school, you need to ask each individual professor or teacher.  Your institution may have a no technology policy (please respect that) or may have no rules on it at all.  I have found that asking a teacher or professor face to face is very easy and effective.  Some say they prefer not to have notebooks, but some slight bargaining might help.

There are several things that you should keep in mind if you need to bargain with them.  First, you will gain nothing by arguing, yelling, or just generally being a jerk. Second, the most effective method is to honestly explain to them why you want a notebook computer in class.  This means that if you want it only for the Internet or games you should not ask them to be allowed to use it in class (this is, after all, why many academic institutions do not like technology in the classroom).  Tell them why you are more effective taking notes with a notebook computer and why it helps you to learn and many professors will ok it.  Sometimes it may help if you offer to show them that you are taking notes after class.   Please do not ignore a teacher or professor if they say no to your using a computer.

Taking Notes in Business Meetings

Meetings can be a different ball game all together.  In large meetings or seminars, notebooks are usually a little more acceptable (if needed).  Again, be sure that if the presenter asks that you don't use a notebook you respect their request.  When you are in smaller meetings notebooks become less acceptable because they start to make you less personable.  As a professional, you should be able to decide when they are or are not appropriate, but my recommendation is that you use them only when they are necessary and do not get in the way of the meeting (or of business).

Basic Hardware Recommendations

If you have gotten this far, I assume you plan to use your notebook computer to take notes, and want some advice.  Let’s start with some basic recommendations. 

First, mute your computer.  If you are in class or a meeting, no one (not even you) needs to hear your computer making noise.  This is a distraction, mostly to others, and is rather rude.  If a message pops up on the screen, you will notice it when you look at the computer. 

Second, turn down your screen brightness.  You don't need perfect vision of the screen while taking notes.  It should be readable so you can correct some mistakes and make sure everything is running right, but full brightness is often not necessary.  In many note taking situations you will use batteries and turning the screen brightness down will help lengthen your battery life. 

Third, turn off your wireless.  There might be some isolated instances when the wireless is necessary, but as a general rule if you are taking notes you won't need Internet access.  This will add battery life (though not too much of it) and will help keep your from being distracted by incoming email, instant messaging, or the chance of surfing the net. 

Finally, you probably don't need a mouse.  Keep it simple.  Take out your notebook; keep the bag in an appropriate location.  It looks more professional and is less of a hassle, plus you won't irritate others as much. 

So, you have a fully charged notebook and you’re ready to take notes, now what? The first thing is to figure out how you are going to take notes.  There are many ways, and I could not possibly cover all of them here, but I can cover some of the popular and effective methods.  I will cover basic text editors, Microsoft Word (or similar applications), Microsoft OneNote, and Evernote.  From here, you can use one of these, or continue looking for more options.

Programs

Basic Text Editor

Basic text editors are usually less than ideal for taking notes.  First, they require that you use a keyboard for entry.   Second, they lack advanced formatting, and what formatting they do have is often difficult to access.  This may be sufficient for some people, and if so, continue on to learn more about taking notes.

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Word Processor

Word processors are sufficient for most people’s needs.  Word processors allow text with formatting, drawings, and pictures.  Taking notes usually just entails typing and minimal formatting.  In meetings or in some classes, however, these extra features are nice to have.  Say you are in a marketing class and need to make a flow chart, what better way than to use the features in your word processor (like Microsoft Word) and make the flow chart.   Maybe you need to draw a picture of something – once again you can with the features of a word processor.

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Microsoft OneNote

In my 6 months of use in classes of all types, I have yet to find something that OneNote hasn’t been able to handle (certainly when compared to all other programs).  OneNote does quite a few nice things.  First, it features all of the formatting options that are commonly used by note takers, including bullets, lists, fonts, and more.  OneNote is also designed for notes.  File handling is one major advantage.  First, all of your “notebooks” are kept in the program and are instantly available.  You can get to any “subject” and any “page” within seconds, which is more than the previous two methods can do.  Having all of your notes accessible is invaluable.  Also, not only can OneNote handle basic shapes for drawings, OneNote is fully compatible with Ink based notes (from either a Tablet PC or from a writing tablet).  This opens doors for people that might not otherwise consider using their computers for notes.  For instance, I use OneNote for engineering and math classes, which would otherwise be nearly impossible on a computer.  One more thing that is invaluable is OneNote’s search abilities.  You can quickly and easily search through your notes, it will search the text, ink, and for words in a picture.  This quick access makes OneNote my choice for notes.

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Note that it found NBR when I searched, even though it was handwritten!

 

Evernote

Evernote is similar to OneNote in many ways.  It is designed for note taking, and can also accept digital ink.  I prefer OneNote because in Evernote the Text is recognized in a separate place and isn’t as convenient.  The notes are all in a row – at the end of one note the next starts.  You can sort all of your notes in the program, and they are accessible at any time (much like OneNote).  My preference to OneNote is mostly personal preference, however.

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Methods

There are two main methods of note taking – keyboard and pen.  Keyboards are pretty self explanatory.  You type your notes in your selected program.  Pen is a little bit more advanced.  The pen can be either a Tablet PC pen or a writing tablet pen (such as a Wacom Graphire4).  This allows you to write on the screen and draw pictures.  For some people this may be more convenient than a keyboard (such as math classes or because they don’t type quickly).  I personally use a combination of the keyboard and a pen tablet.  When appropriate I write or draw pictures, when I can, I type (I type much faster than I write).  Using a pen is a worthwhile investment.  You can gain the advantages of using a computer without sacrificing your ability to take notes.

Reasons to Prefer Computers

Computers have several advantages for note taking.  First, they make sharing easy.  You can email someone notes very quickly and easily (easier than copying papers and delivering them, or redoing your notes after your class or meeting).  Also, you can keep your notes in one place, nice and organized.  This is invaluable to someone such as myself, as I have a bad habit of losing papers.  Finally, your notes are relatively safe on a computer.  If you keep backups of your computer (as you should) you don’t have to worry about losing a page, or it getting ruined (spilled coffee, anyone?).  Finally, you can easily search.  This is invaluable to many people.  Instead of having 20 pages of notes and looking for one certain thing, you can type it in and find it instantly.  This makes using notes more likely and more desirable, which are both good things.

Note Taking Advice

Now you are ready to take notes on your computer.  You have gotten your program and you are all setup.  But, how do you take notes?  Here is my basic advice.  First, unless you actually are, don’t try to be a transcriptionist.  If you are not fast enough, you need to be taking notes, not writing everything word for word.  If you do try to take a transcription, you will likely get lost and not follow what is happening.  Paraphrase things, or take notes how you normally would.  Keep your notes organized.  A complete stream of typing isn’t very useful.  But, at the same time, don’t over organize by formatting.  Every second you spend trying to format is a second you don’t spend taking notes.  That said, find the balance between formatting and writing, which will change for everyone.  Make sure you autosave.  If the worst does happen and your computer runs out of power or crashes, be sure to minimize your losses.  OneNote is excellent about autosaving (I don’t know the exact time or exactly how it works, but I have never lost anything in OneNote).  You can change programs like Microsoft Word to autosave more often if you desire.

Conclusion

This guide is intended for you to gain ideas about how you can take notes and adapt them to your own style.  Don’t take anything I have said as gospel, but don’t write me off completely. I have plenty of experience with all of the programs and methods I have talked about. I prefer to use OneNote for my notes. I find it to be reliable and usable.  You can pick your favorite program and method.  Give computers a chance if you haven’t.  They can make a world of difference for many people.  They help me to be organized and keep up in classes.  Plus, with the ability to search I can instantly find what I need to use my notes later. 

If you have questions, comments, other things you want to know please just respond to this article in the forums!

 

Some very sound advice. I'll defiantely try and use OneNotes.

 

Wow, this was something unusual, and very helpful! Glad to see a article about something other than notebooks or notebook accessories (not saying those aren't good).

 

great guide, i like the OneNote you mentioned, probably will use it for my group meeting but for lectures....

while i consider my typing speed is in between normal->fast, i still don't think notebook will help alot during my class. maybe because most of my subject are Bioscience plus some engineering.

i.e, how quickly can you draw a animal cell + a virus + trying to keep up with the lecture? if i were to use my pencil, 10 seconds for quick one, little longer maybe for a more detail one, with all the virus 'head' and 'pin' etc.

 

Just one of my tips id like to add, put your laptop into hibernate mode between classes so you can turn it on quickly before lectures

 

Thanks for this article. I have wondered about using OneNote (I've never used or seen it before) for taking notes in my work with clients. I see people hour to hour, and find that pen/paper notetaking is cumbersome and often difficult to read after the fact. But I"m also worried about reducing the personal connection in my sessions. Where can I learn more about a digital pen? Do you have to have a tablet PC to do that? I've ordered a new 14" computer, an Asus V2S-A1. I thought that the 14" screen was about as small as I could go, given my need for photo editing and occasional desktop publishing. I also thought it might be less obtrusive to use in sessions. ORiginally I had considered a smaller computer, like the Dell XPS M1330....but have been sold on the features of the Asus at this point. Any ideas how I could incorporate the use of a digital pen with my new computer system? Or do I have to get a tablet PC too?

Thanks!

 

I agree that detailed drawings are difficult, but my major is in Engineering, so I am able to keep with drawings and vectors constantly. When I have a little more time I will make a screen shot of some actual in class things that I have done so that I could keep up. You would be surprised at what you could do with a Wacom tablet and your keyboard.

 

I actually find that Standby is better for between classes. My hibernate time is about 45 seconds to power down and about 30 seconds to power up. My Standby (Sleep) time is roughly 15 seconds to power down and about 5 seconds to power up. Thanks for adding that though!

 

Caleb brings up some great points here, the etiquette part of when to use a laptop is very important as he says. An article we posted a while ago about a Georgetown law prof banning notebooks in the classroom and why can be found here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=115846

 

That is some FANTASTIC advice! I'll admit, I have a habit of getting distracted by by notebook, so if I use it to take notes, I usually turn the wireless OFF.

I'm surprised some schools have a "no technology" policy. My school is pretty much the exact opposite of that. Yes, there are a few profs that don't allow laptops, but many of my classes actually REQUIRE the laptops! My Calc III prof frequently asks us to bring them, so we can use Maple. My Computer Architecture class...pretty self-explanatory, but we also use DyKnow software plus a USB Wacom tablet to take notes in that class. It's very cool, since the teacher's notes automatically synchronize with our laptops! Also in Calculus, there are many times where we are allowed to use our notebooks for tests!Of course, you can't look at notes and have your wireless on, otherwise, you automatically flunk the test.

On OneNote: I tried getting OneNote 2003 through MSDNAA, but I could never get it to download. Looks like I'll have to upgrade to office 2007 to get OneNote (At least we get Office 2007 enterprise edition for free).

I've only skimmed the article so far; when I get the time, I'll read the rest of it.

 

Keynote is a nice note taking app as well, great for collecting ideas as well.

 

wow great article, This is just what i needed as i am currently deciding between a HP tablet pc (tx1000z) or a dell xps m1330, is it easy to use a wacom tablet? i have never tried one. what would you reconmend. cheers

 

Not to be a bragger or anything...but I actually take notes in class just as it was suggested in this guide - min brightness, wi-fi off, muted, no external mouse

Nice guide!

 

Oh come on where is the love for wordpad

 

Also, if your notebook has a built in microphone, it may be useful to record the lesson as well as type notes. It shouldn't be a substitute for taking notes, but is a lifesaver if you missed a point or two.

 

Be sure to ask your prof for this as well. Some professors don't like having the thought that their voice/material could be online or something in that range.

Also, I have a 1520, and I'm yet to bring it into class, except for one time. I want to try and use OneNote, but I would rather have a tablet for my Calc and Computer Science class. How does the Wacom tablet work?

 

The Wacom tablets are very simple and effective. Basically, you have a pen (no batteries needed) that acts as a stylus, and the writing tablet itself. You just write on the tablet, and it turns into mouse movement on the screen. Programs such as OneNote are smart enough to distinguish between the pen tablet, and say your regular mouse. This means that you can write in ink (like in the screen shot I gave) then instantly switch to your touchpad, line up your cursor and type away. I will try to take pictures later today, and provide some more examples as OneNote seems to be drawing quite a bit of attention. Thanks for the warm welcome to this article.

 

The HP Pavilion tx1000z doesn't have a Wacom touchscreen; it has a passive digitizer touchscreen instead (and even that's optional!). If you want an HP tablet with a Wacom touchscreen, go with the HP Compaq 2710p instead.

I haven't used these two models to really compare them; but from what I've heard, tablets with a Wacom tablet (2710p) are generally more responsive, need less calibration, and need less pressure than those with passive digitizers (tx1000z). On the other hand, with the passive digitizers, you can use virtually anything to touch the screen with (as long as it doesn't damage the screen, of course), whereas on the Wacom tablets, you can only use the pen that the tablet was supplied with. Your finger won't activate the touchscreen, in other words.

I've used a USB Wacom tablet; it takes some time getting used to (the cursor starts to move even when the pen isn't touching the tablet, but is very close; the mouse buttons are very tricky; and I generally have to reduce the mouse sensitivity so I can write better), but I'm starting to like it. My Computer Architecture 1 classroom has these USB tablets for us to plug in and use. They can come in handy for making your own notes with DyKnow.

 

I just started law school this fall, and got myself a new XPS m1330 to take notes on in class. EVERY SINGLE PERSON in my lectures has a laptop of some kind that they all take notes on, it's ridiculous.

Anyway, I run Linux, and I've used BasKet Note Pads for the past few weeks for briefing cases and taking in-class notes. It's really quite nice... not as full-featured as OneNote, from what I hear, but there's absolutely no learning curve, it's nice and light-weight, and exports to HTML at the click of a button. If you're running Linux, I'd recommend it - you can download it at http://basket.kde.org/.

 

Great article! takes some rep!

 

Awesome article! Definitely a very unique and helpful article for students as well as professionals.
I'm pretty curious about the development of laptop programs for high school and below. It'll be great if high schoolers can actually use laptops like college students. But again, high schoolers usually have no self-control. lol

 

Having been in University for a few years now, it is interesting to see the adoption of laptops in the classroom. For the most part, I think laptops are unnecessary for note taking, but usefully for archiving and sharing. In my engineering classes about 15% of students have a laptop in class (but nobody uses them for notes). In arts lectures, however, about 30% of students are using laptops (and actually taking notes) - this is where I have learned that 40 people typing is distractingly loud.

OneNote is a great program. I am now tempted to buy a Wacom tablet, but as a student, I may have to starve a little to afford one.

 

Notebooks in class are actually quite in my classes. No one has them in history or literature. No one in math has the necessary tablet PC, and everyone in computer science uses the classroom desktops, even if their laptop is better spec-wise. Only one person in my poly-sci class brought a laptop to class. Perhaps it is more common in the sciences here, but I doubt it's too much different. Laptops are prevalent in the library, however.

The Georgetown Prof said, "Students taking notes turn into stenographers and not thinkers as they just try to write down everything the professor says." Can't help thinking that that's me even with pen and paper!

Very sound advice if you are thinking of using a laptop in class, though.

DyKnow is a very useful software. Even without a Wacom tablet it's quite useful.

 

Last year my high school won a PA government grant that gave my school Smart boards and Lenovo T60's with Core Solo processors. I used them last year in my English and Math classes. There were only enough for a few classes though. I also used old Dells in science once.

 

wow... so do the teachers actually encouraged bringing laptops in school?

 

No, the laptops are owned by the school. They don't let you bring in your own laptop ( maybe they do, never asked). But there is a new charter school in West Philadelphia where they give you laptops and you use them in your classes and take them home to do work.

 

I have never had problems with teachers not wanting me to use my notebook in class (in both high school and college). I think there are a few reasons. First, in a very large class, teachers will not deal with students and laptops on a case by case, either they are ok or banned. I haven't been in a ban situation. In smaller classes, you can tell when someone is doing something other than notes. One of my professors asks that students with laptops sit in the back, a reasonable request. First, most students will look at you while you lecture, and second if they aren't, their eye movement is very noticeable for games or doing something else. Don't use your notebook to screw around, just take notes or don't take it. Why pay thousands of dollars for college to play games in class?

 

Agreed. More teachers/professors need to implement this software.

I'm surprised that many people here in engineering classes say that laptops are rarely used in their classes. I know there are many, many classes at my school that require the laptops. Depending on your major, you may need to take a MATLAB course, a course involving SolidEdge, among other CAD software.

Put it this way: Our Laptops came preloaded with:
1. SolidEdge v18
2. Maple 10
3. Mechanical Desktop 2004
4. WorkingModel 2D CD
5. MATLAB (Forgot the version, my major doesn't require it)
6. Eclipse SDK
7. No bloatware!! (There wasn't even an swsetup folder on our Laptops! The HP folks will know what I'm talking about here)

And I've had to download two different versions of Xilinx ISE for two different classes: Version 7.1i for Logic Design (took it last spring) and 9.2i for Computer Architecture 1 (currently taking).

Then again, Laptops are rarely used for note-taking in my classes. If a laptop is out, it's because the professor is currently requiring it for some class activity, or the person using the laptop is doing else besides taking notes in class. I'll admit, I've been distracted by my laptop more than a few times, and my grades probably have suffered as a result.

The exception, of course, is in my Computer Architecture class, where we use DyKnow with the professor to take notes.

 

Thanks for the well thought out article!

I have a ?? though;

Where can I get more info and reviews for those writing/drawing type thingamagingies...?

 

I provided a link earlier (I believe on page 1). I will try to provide some more information on them when I have a little time.

 

Is there any advantage with using OneNote 2007 over Word 2007 if I just have a regular notebook? I have OneNote, but because I don't have a tablet, I have never felt the need to install the software and learn how to use it.

 

I feel that the biggest advantage to OneNote is its ease of access for all of your notes and for its easier to access drawing features. Even if all you need for your notes is the ability to type with basic formating, having all of your files accessible is much nicer. If you need to pull up a file from a previous note session, how long will it take with word? With OneNote, you can instantly search just your notes, and have the information accessible within seconds, not 30 seconds, 45 seconds, or a minute later. I also feel that OneNote is a little safer, as it seems to constantly autosave. Give it a try. If OneNote doesn't work for you, use word.

 

This article also applies to regular notebooks to what i've read.

But I have one question (and this maybe could be a nice add to the -already- excellent article, thaks for making this, is really useful!!)

Wich screen size is better for taking notes on college or something?? It's kinda obvious that the smaller it gets, the easier it is but, isn't 15.4'' too big? is 14.1'' alright? 13'' seems to be a sweet spot too =D

 

Actually, I disagree with that quite a bit. This first shows that there is no official sweet spot, its all personal preference. I liked my 15" (standard, not wide) best, next my 14" wide screen, and then my 15.4". I wouldn't want a 13" because it is too small, and I don't want a 17" because it is too big, but anything in between is completely fine. Why would 15.4" be too big?

 

Depends on how much your back can handle .

I can perfectly see someone wanting a notebook smaller than 15.4" if they carry around a lot of textbooks and/or they have to walk long distances to get to class (by long distances I mean >15 minutes travel time). My 15.4" is perfect for me, since all my classes are 10 minutes away from my dorm, and I usually don't have to carry many textbooks with me at the same time. Then again, I'm used to carrying around extremely heavy backpacks from back in my high school days.

Also, I didn't have a choice when I bought my notebook, so size wouldn't have really mattered for me anyway .

 

I suppose that is true, but I still fail to see the 2-3lb significance in a 30lb+ backpack - you cant honestly notice it that much. I am also biased since I am a 215lb large frame male, I suppose I can handle a lot more than most.

 

Great article, thanks! OneNote is one of the best software for taking notes.

I use my M1330 to organize notes after class because its keyboard is too loud/noisy and I don't want to disturb other people. I am considering to buy a wacom but using a tablet during class seems a little weird.

 

That's a big reason why I bought a tablet instead of a laptop. The tablet can look like a notepad from the teachers position. They're very discreet, unlike a laptop that has a screen jutting up for everyone to see.

 

Caleb: Thanks again for this article. I'm anticipating arrival of my new computer very soon--and have OneNote 2007 to put onto it. I've never used OneNote, nor even seen it on anyone's computer. So, it's hard for me to imagine whether it would work for what I want it to do. I want to take notes in sessions--much like a college student does. I have to draw diagrams along with typing text. I've never used a digital pen and tablet, but it seems like the diagram drawing would work on that. However, probably the most important thing for me will be to use a standardized form for each notetaking session. I have a couple of them I have to use--some are 8 pages long. Is there a way for me to put those forms into OneNote, then pull up a "blank" for each session? I'd also like to customize each "blank" to a particular client with their personal info to use in each session. Is this possible? Can you guide me?

What I do now is I have a Word document that is the blank. When I start a new client, I enter their personal info and "save as." Then for each session, I pull up that client's blank form, and enter the date of the session and print it out. I then handwrite my notes on that, including checking symptoms and "filling in blanks," and then I have to sign all of them. It's a lot of stuff to do and I'd like to streamline this if possible. I'd also like this to be a way to move into keeping digital client records instead of paper files that I'm required by law to store forever--I even have to provide for proper storage in my WILL! Can you believe that?

Thanks!

 

You can print to OneNote, then ink over top of it. Of course that'd work for your custom "blanks" as well.

The hardest part might be getting it to save to PDF or print. I usually use OneNote in continuous page format, but I know you can restrict it to 8.5x11, I just can't tell you how well that works when you print documents for your form to OneNote.

 

When you say ink over top, do you mean using a digital pen and tablet? I didn't realize that printing would be a problem. At first I'd like to print out each "form" for the paper file. I'll always need to be able to print if I have to.

 

I haven't done much printing from OneNote, but my guess is that you will be able to make this work. You should be able to bring the forms in and make them so that they can be inked into or written into.

 

What type of digital pen do you suggest for this? I'd rather not spend a lot, and I'd rather not have to use a tablet or special paper. I'm assuming that when you say "inked into" you mean using a pen and "written into" means typing.

 

This would be an example, and probably my recommendation of what to get. Questions about it?

 

That one requires a tablet and you also pay for a mouse (I will probably be using a bluetooth mouse, dunno yet). Also, it's out of stock at New Egg. Any other ideas?

 

As far as I am concerned, any good option will require a tablet. Honestly though, the tablet isn't a big deal. And maybe you do pay for the mouse, but its $85, thats really not much considering the amount of use you can get out of it. You could also use google, pricegrabber, or any other method to find an alternative.

 

I"ve looked around and found the Graphire4 small "refurbished" tablet plus pen and software (looks like artist/photo stuff) for about $50. No where does that say it works with Vista or the 2007 OneNote or a widescreen display. I have also found the Bamboo tablet and pen (no mouse) for $70. That one does say it works with Vista. Both tablets appear to require a wired connection to the computer. How long is the wire? Would it be reasonble to sit in a chair holding the tablet with the notebook on a table or desk nearby but not right next to the tablet, i.e. in view but not the typical distance from the PC? Are there such things as USB extension cables? Thanks again for all your help on this.

 

i might go for that small wacom tablet when it's in stock.

 

ummm.....both are small. both are in stock. the first, the Graphire 4 4x5 is the one that is refurbished (not returnable) and has "free" software--Photoshop elements and Corel paint something or other. That's the $50 one, and that's also the one that no where says it works with Vista. The other one is also small--the Bamboo--and it does say it works with Vista. It's not refurbished, costs $70 and is in stock.

 

The Graphire4 4x5 is what I have, and the samples you saw in the original article were done in Vista and oneNote 2007, does that help? Also, the cord is 3-4 feet long, and there are USB extension cords.