The above image is a remix of photos by DeclanTM and Daniel Morrison.
Over at Carolyn Blogs, the personal blog of a college student studying computer science, Carolyn highlights some of her reasons for using paper-based notes:
Call me old-fashioned, but I like to take notes with a pen and paper. As I've discussed previously, the act of writing helps cement the lecture material in my mind better than passive listening does, and studies have shown that it's not just me [pdf]. Still, I know that my old-fashioned ways are quickly going out of style.
I decided at the beginning of last year that it would be nice to bring my laptop to class so that my notes would be neatly organized (and actually legible for once), and changed my mind after only one or two classes. I could never type fast enough to keep up with the professor, and every five minutes I found myself cursing at not being able to copy the diagram on the board.
In contrast to that, I'm an all-computer-or-nothing note taker—although in fairness my areas of study don't require diagrams or technical schematics of any sort so I haven't run into the wall that Carolyn has. I take all my notes in Microsoft OneNote—even using it for GTD!—and keep it synced between my netbook and my desktop via Dropbox.
Where do you fall on the note-taking spectrum? Are you a heavy computer user? Can't imagine taking notes without a legal pad and pen? Take paper notes but then transcribe them? Cast your vote in the poll:
Do You Prefer Handwriting or Typing Your Notes?(surveys)
If you have a favorite note-taking tool or technique, analog or digital, let's hear about it in the comments.
My Classmates Are Taking Their Notes Digitally, But I Can't Fathom How They Keep Up [Carolyn Blogs]
