Hey,
Could anyone(engineering student preferably) tell me whether it is necessary to take laptop to class or not? Basically why do we need to take a laptop to class? Because i wont be buying a tablet pc so obviously i can't take notes on my normal laptop...So it would be great if any one could give me a few reasons to take a laptop to class! Becaus ewhat i was thinking is that if a laptop is not required in class then for a much lesser price and better config i could buy a desktop...
Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Kanishka

Hey,
Could anyone(engineering student preferably) tell me whether it is necessary to take laptop to class or not? Basically why do we need to take a laptop to class? Because i wont be buying a tablet pc so obviously i can't take notes on my normal laptop...So it would be great if any one could give me a few reasons to take a laptop to class! Becaus ewhat i was thinking is that if a laptop is not required in class then for a much lesser price and better config i could buy a desktop...
Thanks in advance.

Sometimes the professor will post the notes before hand, you can add your own notes to it (I usually just convert everything to PDF and use acrobat pro to add notes).

Another reason is that some people write slow or can't read their writing afterwards. Therefore they opt to type everything up. The only problem is if you have to draw pictures or diagrams.

what if one is slow at typing too?

Originally Posted by Kanishka

what if one is slow at typing too?

Then you should practise either writing or typing over the summer to improve your skills.

You really won't need a laptop in class. All you need is a paper and something to write with or the lecture slides if the professors but them up. Laptops are usually distracting in class... almost everyone tends to go surf the web while in class... If you prefer taking notes on a laptop then go right ahead! it depends what works for you.

Originally Posted by Kanishka

what if one is slow at typing too?

Try some Mavis Bacon I think that's what it was called.. or try some typing tutors online!

Originally Posted by patelp

You really won't need a laptop in class. All you need is a paper and something to write with or the lecture slides if the professors but them up. Laptops are usually distracting in class... almost everyone tends to go surf the web while in class... If you prefer taking notes on a laptop then go right ahead! it depends what works for you.

Oh right, I should probably say that I opted to write notes on top of the PDF notes the teacher supplied instead of printing off the pages because for Chemistry there were A LOT of pages to print and I wanted to save money and paper.

You will NOT need a laptop in class in engineering. In fact, you won't even need to go to class. Everything is taken verbatim from the textbook or posted online.

For some of my classes, (I was in SocSci) I needed a laptop. Even though all my profs did post something online, they almost always added onto their notes in little or a lot of detail. Sometimes printing it off works, sometimes it doesn't. You just have to see what the class is like first to know if you'll need it or not.

suppose i decide to write notes on paper then is there a need for laptop?if yes then why?

Originally Posted by Kanishka

suppose i decide to write notes on paper then is there a need for laptop?if yes then why?

You'll need a laptop or desktop in university. You'll need to access the internet in order to access your course notes online, know when your midterms are, print labs, do quizzes and assignments as well as research.

i definitely will be getting a computer...but i don't know wat to get...laptop or desktop....coz i can save about 400-500 dollars by buying a desktop....and i want a fast comp eventhough i don't play games...but again laptop has its advantage of portability...

Well, you don't need a super expensive laptop. And you probably don't want to stay in your dorm room all the time when studying and things like that.

I mostly used my laptop for my elective (macroeconomics) since I found that course required a lot of note taking. Otherwise I only found my laptop useful when I forgot to print out the provided notes/lecture slides before hand like in chem and physics. It's a huge distraction to have it in the class

However a laptop might be useful if you have to meet up for group projects or work on a paper/lab report in the library

Originally Posted by Nila

I mostly used my laptop for my elective (macroeconomics) since I found that course required a lot of note taking. Otherwise I only found my laptop useful when I forgot to print out the provided notes/lecture slides before hand like in chem and physics. It's a huge distraction to have it in the class

However a laptop might be useful if you have to meet up for group projects or work on a paper/lab report in the library

It's only a distraction to certain people. I don't find my laptop very distracting at all. Just disable your wireless or don't log onto MSN so that people can't reach you.

Very good point about group projects. It's very convenient!