Originally Posted by MiniDragon

If going the notebook route, is it worth getting a binder or two? Just in case we get any hand outs? Or... do we ever get handouts?

I have a notebook + a folder for each class. One one side of the folder are all of my notes (I print them out), and the other side has labs/tests/course outline/assignments. The notebook is where all of my practise work goes, and where I physically do the rough copies for the assignments (as well as take notes if I don't have the printed ones with me).

paper n pen is the way for me. say this cuz im kinestic n visual so i have to write n see wut i write for it to stick in my brain. i used 2inch binders last year n i found it sooo ineffective. too big too bring to class. this year im gonna switch to notebooks and bring some 1inch binders to put the handouts in.

I came in thinking I will only use my laptop. The plus side was that I got any notes I need at any given moment via the search option which was nice but studying off the screen was a pain and making changes wasn`t much fun either.

My (working) set up, in 2nd sem, was to have a notebook for notes and one for problems (math and phys) for each class; that way studying became a lot easier and writing down the notes themselves proved to be a much better method to help me remember.

If you want to skip all of that and just get down to it: paper + pen

Looks like its time to buy some notebooks

Originally Posted by MiniDragon

If going the notebook route, is it worth getting a binder or two? Just in case we get any hand outs? Or... do we ever get handouts?

For some classes, the teachers will post the notes and you have to print them off... So I suggest getting a few binders for that. Especially for anyone taking kinesiology 1Y03/1YY3 ( SOO many notes)

yay kin! ...not. lol
I got a binder for each class, although I believe the clipboard idea is somewhat genius haha

Originally Posted by Olivia.

yay kin! ...not. lol
I got a binder for each class, although I believe the clipboard idea is somewhat genius haha

Even though there's a lot of notes... favourite class ever.

It'll be interesting to see, never got the chance to take it in highschool

It really depends on the way the prof does their lectures.

Many of my kinesiology classes are power point slides with lines on the side to jot down some notes.. no real need for a laptop
But there are also a few ( also kin) where there is just SO much information that trying to fit it all in on the sides of the lecutre notes ( or copy it down quick enough) is just ridiculous ( for examples the courses with custom course where which leave NO room for the HUGE amounts of additonal info given)


I have also had a psych course where the prof didnt post the lecture notes until the day AFTER the class-- and basically just verbally lectured and everyone scrambled to catch his every word... The notes once posted, were not very extensive and unless you were able to write at super speed.. you would need the notes that you typed up!


.. the best mix i found ( although time consuming,, but yet a great way to study for exams) was to type up what the prof said in lecture.. then go through it and write out on paper the main points.. either next to the lecutre slides or just on lined paper

I personally prefer note and paper, because there is so much about laptops that serves as distractions. Also, I wouldn't want my key-clacking to serve as a distraction to someone. Besides, I have no guarantee which lectures of mine are going to have tables, an which ones will have pull outs.

It's weird, but I find that with hand written notes, I'm using my mind more? I'm more aware of my notes, what I am writing, and when I go back to rewrite my notes (my fast lecture writing is some language like Swahili, not English), the information sticks. Another thing with hand written is you develop the ability to differentiate between the lecture points you do need, and don't (if you didn't already have this before)

If taking hand written notes, one thing I suggest is writing down what the prof is saying, pre-paraphrased on your paper. So for ex:
If the prof says: Part of Oscar Wilde's notoriety was that he was arrested for homosexual acts, sodomy specifically.

You my write down: OW in jail for being gay, buttsex

and then when going back to rewrite the notes, you make it sound more academic. I do this a lot, and what I find is that I actually end up remembering more of what the teacher is saying, because not only does it sound more eloquent, but it really helps when trying to remember answers for tests or thnk of ideas for essays. What better way to state something than how the prof said it? sodomy>buttsex.

Something being time consuming shouldn't be a deterrent if it ends up being good for you. Because around midterms/finals, you're going to be wishing you took the longer route.

pen and a paper notebook.

WAY less distracting and easier to draw diagrams and other stuff. Also laptops r harder to manage when ur sitting in an overcrowded lecture hall with small seats

Everyone is mentionning how distracting laptops are.. But that depends on the person.

If youre going to sit around on facebook/msn/playing games,, you shouldnt bother coming to class ( despite the whole its better to be there and listen then to not be there)

If youre using your laptop for note taking and just note taking in class.. then its great, especially for those 3 hr night classes.

You can go through the material when studying for a midterm/exam or after the lecture and hand write the important stuff... by doing this youre forced to look over the material again, and by writing down the important stuff you will be further encoding it into your memory.



Obviously for courses like Math or chem.. pen and paper would be a better option unless yo

u want to spend your time searching for symbols etc.

Hi everyone,

I'll soon be a first year engineering student. I have questions about textbooks and note taking. Is it better to have a tablet and electronic pdf versions of the textbooks, or the physical paper versions themselves? How many textbooks will first year eng students be caring around on average? As well as in class note taking. Is it recommended to use the old fashioned notebook and pen or type everything out on a laptop?

Thanks!

David

for notetaking, its preference. and dont carry textbooks around unless you wanna read it while on campus i guess. i didnt take any notes since everythin in first year for science at least was online or you could just read the book on your own time if you wanted. i always carried a notebook from titles though in case i wanted to write something down.

Preference for both. Although most eng. people take notes by hand. First year courses like math you got to take down the notes yourself. Other engineering courses have slides so you can either add comments on powerpoint or print slides and write down notes.

For textbooks it depends. I would highly recommend for math you get the hardcover since it comes with a full solution manual. Although it only contains odd answers and you can find those online I personally find it easier and faster to use paper for math. Otherwise you can use digital if you want to save money.