How to Take Notes on Your Notebook (Computer)

Yes, that helps a lot. Thanks. I think I'll order the Graphire 4. It seems that Bamboo may be the "new" Graphire, as the Bamboo has a widescreen orientation. I was thinking that one was limited to that 4x5 area as if it were a regular "page." When I called the reseller, I was assured that was not the case. I think a refurbished Graphire pad, pen, mouse, tablet and software for $50 is a pretty safe way to try this concept. Thanks, Caleb, for showing me the way.

 

Yep, just glad to help others out.

 

Excellent post!

A few more suggestions and comments:

1. Size is subjective, but know your surroundings! Some college lecture rooms are very cheap and stingy with desk space - especially if they have row-desks that are shared by 50 students. In such a situation, having a 17" can not only be inconvenient for you, but also make it impossible for people on either side of you to get the space they need.

2. Not all rooms have power plugs. Plan accordingly.

3. Someone mentioned taping lectures. Be careful with this. Not only do you have to get the professor and university's consent for copyright issues if for nothing else, but depending on the state, it may be illegal unless you get the prior (written) consent of EVERYONE that you record - i.e. you may need to petition for permission of every single student in the room as well. Be aware of your state's laws regarding this.

4. Some types of classes require you to think more than transcribe. Use your judgment. (the GULC law professor cited here earlier is a good example)

5. Some classes in certain disciplines REQUIRE notebooks for exams and even for notetaking. If the exams are "open-book", it may be beneficial for you to take your notes on the laptop too so they'd be easily accessible, even if you outline them onto your notebook anyway.

6. Inevitably, the tendency during class is to start up that AIM conversation or play solitaire. The problem is most people are MUCH more obvious about this than they think they are, and it is VERY obvious to anyone watching (i.e. the professor). For example, glasses reflect light - it can be very amusing to watch the reflection of someone's WoW paladin running around in his bubble of invincibility. Most professors don't care unless you're too disruptive, but don't bother pretending if you do get caught - it'll only make you look like an idiot.

7. Unless you sit in the back row, don't look at any sites you wouldn't want your mother to catch you browsing.

 

Since I have a notebook, I can't draw on the screen. MS Word 2007 opens documents almost instantly if not instantly for me. I don't see any advantage to using OneNote based on your post besides the autosave feature, but I always use ctrl+s anyways. It has became more or less a habit for me to save every 5 min. or so.

 

Apparently OneNote has a feature that allows you to enable a pen and tablet (like a Wacom stand-alone tablet and pen) or other type of digital pen-mouse to draw or write in handwriting. My understanding is that you don't put the pen on the actual screen. You see the drawing happen on your notebook screen as you draw on the tablet with your digital pen. I haven't used it yet, but this is what I intend to do. I hope I said this right, Caleb!

 

It's hard to describe all the advantages of OneNote 2007 over Word 2007 for notetaking unless you actually take some time to play with it. Suffice to say that it is MUCH better at fulfilling its purpose (taking notes and organizing notes) than Word 2007

For example, OneNote autosaves everything (I think it's even more than 1 per min but I can't be certain). If you're manually saving every 5 min, if you lose something from 4.5 min ago, you might've just lost 1/6 of the entire lecture depending on the class.

As far as loading speed goes, OneNote is just as fast - if not faster (depending on how integrated you set it to be with Windows with the quick-note grabbing feature and whatnot) - as Word.

OneNote lets you put notes anywhere on the page, which can then be dragged.
It allows you to link to other notebooks as well as to other objects outside of OneNote.

It allows embedding of just about any object.

It can have great integration with Outlook and calendar/email programs, web browsers, as well as Windows in general.

It can consolidate a variety of formats for organization - pdfs, media (audio and video), excel worksheets, graphs, powerpoint presentations, etc.

It allows realtime recording which is set to the position of your notes (i.e. you can always hear what people were saying at the time you typed each line of notes), that's also searchable.

There is an organizational hierarchy is built-in and customizable.

It allows quick organization of tables and charts.

It allows quick management of basic drawing tools.

It offers built-in OCR search functionality for images.

If you do end up using a tablet or hand-writing notes, it offers quick conversion.

The list goes on and on, and no amount of describing can do it justice. Try out a free trial version yourself and see how much better it is.

This isn't to say you can't simply use Word (or even Notepad) to take notes, but if you want to get the most out of taking, organizing, consolidating, and sharing notes, OneNote is far superior to standard text editors and word processing applications.

Keep in mind that "notes" aren't limited to just what you transcribe in the class room and aren't just "text". OneNote's features make it much easier for the professional to organize his notes in a way that makes it easier to present and analyze in the long run with a variety of non-text "notes" as well.

 

Yes, Susan has this right. Taelrak also has it right that once you start to use OneNote, it becomes brutally apparent that it is designed for note taking and word isn't. Give it a try sometime and find out for yourself.

 

An Eye-Opening article. I started using OneNote and I wonder how I had been living without using one. I tried EverNote too and these two products meet different work scenarios. When layout is important, I like OneNote and when chronological ordering of event is more important, I like EverNote. In a way, I am using both of them.

Now, I came across one interesting find in OneNote. I pasted an image (of around 600x600 pixel 200KB) from CorelPhoto paint using Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V in OneNote, the file size of OneNote increased by 1MB :O. I deleted this image but file size did not decrease. Next, instead of copy paste, I imported that picture from menu Insert->Picture->FromFile. Doing so increased OneNote size by 200KB only (the new size is 1MB + 200KB).

Since I deleted the first copy-pasted image, 1MB size slot that was increased should now be empty and I think OneNote will later compact it when it thinks fit. But is there any option in OneNote to do it manually? (Like there is Compact Folder option in Outlook Express).

 

I am not sure if this will do what you are after, but if you go to Tool > Options > Save (Left Side of the Window), there is a 'Optimize All Files Now" button, or something similar, try that.

 

Thanks CalebSchmerge. You hit the bull's eye. I must have done lots of cut-paste, file size reduced from 2.8MB to 400KB.

Edited: And I must tell you, this very article put me into more research, try those programs, etiquette factor while using regular laptop in meeting whose screen is not visible to participants (sure they know I am not chatting but some of them are always doubtful ), it HELPED me make decision that I am going to get a Tablet PC.

 

I am using OneNote in home desktop, office desktop and laptop and actual files recide in my PenDrive. The auto sync feature of OneNote when you create them in PenDrive saves you hassle of manually updating notes between desktop, home and laptop. I did several tests on how OneNote syncs when there are two version of data on the same page (result of offline updating when PenDrive is plugged off). OneNote is really smart and when it cannot decide which version is the latest one, it gives you manual option to sync as you like.

I cannot imagine doing this using Word. I am not trying to exaggerate but I found I am less using paper notebook after I started using OneNote. I use it from work R&D, quick jotdown of phone messages to right now using as consolidated web research tool on Tablet features to narrow down my options.

 

I use it for ideas and collaboration as well. I used it to organize this article, to write a program that I did for some Asus users, and much more. It truly is a useful program. Honestly, this is one of the few reasons that I will use Vista (built in handwriting recognition, so I can search my handwritten notes, XP won't do it) and one of the very few reasons I won't use linux. Almost everything else I want is in linux, but this is one good program.

 

I have a question. I really don't like the idea of having a tablet in class. Is there a cordless pen that I can write information on paper with and it will be sync'd directly to OneNote? I know there is a Logitech one, but that requires special paper. I'd like the idea of having a hard copy of hand written notes and then also automatically saved on to my computer.

One step further- Is there any pen that actually has an attached flash drive that records exactly what I'm writing / drawing WITHOUT my PC next to me. Then when I get home, I can plug it into the computer and transfer all my saved notes from the pen to a program such as OneNote. That's probably a bit of a stretch, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thank you in advance. Excellent and informative article.

 

I think I recall of hearing of something other than the Logitech, however I think the Logitech would be the best one for you, unless their notebooks really are a problem, but it doesn't seem that they would be a big deal.

 

I used Onenote for notetaking for the first time today. It is awesome. Really makes things easier than word.

 

I just bought office 07 ultimate after reading about onenote, and have moved my notes from this semester into it.

So far i really like it.

 

Nah they aren't a big deal, I'm just worried about Logitech stopping production on those certain notebooks. I then have a $200, useless, toilet-roll sized pen.

 

After reading Caleb's article, I too wanted to find a pen/mouse that doesn't require a tablet so I researched. All I could find is the promise of products "on the horizon," but nothing that can actually be purchased yet. Watch for one from EPOS, an Israeli company, I think--projected release date has already passed. There are other brands I can't remember. It's supposed to have the USB flash drive/clip that stores what you write on regular paper by reading sonar or light signals that the pen sends to the clip which you attach to the top of whatever paper you are writing on. You then take the combo clip/flash drive and plug it into your computer for transfer and even handwriting transfer to text if you choose. Pretty cool, but again, AFAIK, can't be bought yet.

 

Ugh okay. That's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for the info, Susan.

 

Very helpful.

 

Didn't find a pen like that with built in storage, but I did find one that connects to the computer via usb: http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GPEN100C and on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823176006

Somebody buy one and write a review

 

I saw some reviews on Amazon for the GPEN100C--not very good. This is the IOGear pen you referenced in both links.

 

Don't know why I didn't think to look on Amazon. I'm always there for reviews. It's cheaper there too. Anyways, the reviews seemed pretty good to me. Of three people, one loved it and two were disenchanted with it because they thought it didn't need to be connected to a PC, and because they expected a decent handwriting OCR program. The rating is probably misleading in this case.

 

You might want to look into the Fly Top pen. It needs a notebook as well though...

 

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I need some help w/ my Bamboo + OneNote 2007.

How do I get the eraser end to automatically become an eraser when I use it? Right now, the eraser end also writes. I have to manually go up to the bar at the top and select the eraser. I want it to automatically be an eraser when I use it.

 

this sounds pretty cool

i have clases where notes are predomintly text (typed) but I may need to draw a diagram?

is it practical to have a tablet in a lecture theatre for such a task - or will everyone look at me as if im some kinda weirdo/show off/nerd

 

where would someone get one of these in australia

 

And if they do look at you weird? Honestly, they have problems if they think you are weird for doing your best to take notes in a class. It seems a tablet would work great for the class you have in mind.

 

what do people here think of the bamboo - it seems to ebt eh cheapest one at the moment?

 

I absolutely love it. You can see the review of it I did. Link is in my signature.

 

Excellent thread. I wish I had found this prior to teaching this semester. I'm making the first part of the thread mandatory reading for those students who wish to use a laptop/tablet in class.

*reps to the OP*

 

Thank you for the comments.

 

Great thread and some great advice.

Some questions though: as an engineering major this fall, I don't think that I can get enough power from a tablet PC (not to mention my somewhat limited budget), and I would prefer a bigger screen. I'm wondering about the practicality of OneNote for things like Calculus, Chemistry, etc, where a lot of symbols, sub/superscripts, and fractions are used. But I guess the WACOM pad fixes that. I did look at those pads, and they look very small. How are you able to write across the whole computer screen when the pad you write on is less than 6"x4"? Regardless, I think the software sounds awesome and I hope that I have an opportunity to use it.

 

I am a Computer Engineering student, so I can assure you that you would be ok (at least I am). The Wacom can be set such that you either treat the area like a mouse where you reach the edge of the pad and move to the other edge of the pad to keep moving, or you can set it so that you have the pad mapped to the screen - if you go to the bottom of the pad, you go to the bottom of the screen. I use the latter, and it works wonderfully for writing in OneNote. I write about the same size as I do on paper and it results in an excellent size on the screen.

 

I just found this thread while I was searching for a solution to a note taking problem. I work for a doctor who is looking for something, other than Word, for note-taking. He needs something which he can organize by patient names and dates of appointments. He would also like to be able to scan in documents and attach to the patients file.

Will OneNote do this? Can it be organized in folders or files by patient? How do you organize the files? Are they in folders in Windows Explorer or in their own place?

He has a laptop running XP2. New machine.

Thanks,
Kate

 

I am not sure that the organization of OneNote will quite be the best fit. The files are a special type, you just open OneNote and pick your "notebook", you don't have to save the file when your done with it. I am fairly certain that there is a demo available of OneNote from Microsoft, you might give that a look.

 

Thanks for your reply, CalebSchmerge. I am really considering the WACOM tablet. Do you know of any stores that carry them so I can try one out?

 

I believe Circuit City carries them, however I am not sure if they have live demo units you can use in the store. I would also be sure to check around online for them, as you might find a better price.

I will also add, that as a Student, I prefer the 4x6 size because desk space is usually so cramped, just something to think about.

 

Great guide CS!!

Although I had it, I never really tryed out onenote till now

 

Wow great guide! I'm going to try and get a tablet too when i get my new laptop soon, so I can implement my laptop into my classes alot easier. And I've never really used OneNote but I was playing with it just now and its a great program! And it fits in well with the whole office suit really great. Any recommendations on a tablet to buy?

 

I like the simple, cheap, yet very effective Wacom Bamboo 4x6 tablets.

 

I like that one, havn't used it but other people have (you for example haha) and they say its great. So I'll most likely get onne! Can't wait to use the laptop I plan to buy and the tablet in school (highschool)! I'm so sure it will be better for me.

Thanks again for this review, I really enjoyed reading it and planning stuff from it.

EDIT: Can someone take a photo of there Wacom Bamboo 4x6 tablet in comparison to there laptop please? This would be great!

 

Here you go. Hope those show what you need.

 

Thanks heaps Caleb! They look pretty nice, but I'm wondering if it ever gets in your way in lectures or similar?

 

Its hard to say - I have always made it work, but sometimes it was a bit tough. Some classes have full tables - it doesn't get any better. You have all the space you need then. Some classes will have individual desks. I can make my 14" notebook and 4x6 tablet fit on them, however, its tight. Some classes are in auditorium type rooms, with little fold out desks - then I have to compromise somehow, but again, I have been able to make it work.

 

I was just thinking about one of my teachers that stuck velcro tabs to his laptop and external 2.5" HDD to stick together on the front of the laptop. I could do the same to the tablet, just to keep it out of the way at times of little desk space, I would have to take it off to use it of course but yeah. Think thats a good idea? Have velcro tabs on the bottom of the tablet will make it uneven though..

 

I wouldn't do that, but that's just me. If you think it will help, by all means. I use a notebook sleeve, and keep the tablet in the front (its nice and thin), so I always have a storage option for it. In class I wouldn't want it stuck down.

 

No I meant it as a storage solution, and take it off the laptop when I want to use it, slap it back on when I need space. But my bag will just be as quick and less noisy..

 

I find one note kind of hard to learn. For instance, when I draw something with the mouse and save it, then try to transfer it over to word....the writing transfers but the drawing does not.

I like to do this in my lab classes because many times I have to combine my stuff on OneNote with stuff in Excel. Thats why I transfer everything to Word. Maybe I could transfer everything to OneNote????

I don't know. It is kind of hard for me to figure it all out. BTW, I have 07.

 

It depends on what you need from Excel. Generally speaking it is best to put everything into OneNote. You can easily and quickly create a table in OneNote (however, its nothing like an excel spreadsheet in terms of flexibility).

Alternatively, you can highlight your drawing in OneNote, and click the "Treat as Drawing" button, they try to copy. If that doesn't work, though, I would suggest that you just use OneNote for all of it.