poshy Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi everyone! I recently got accepted to PA school and have been contemplating what way would work best for me to take notes. I'm considering buying an iPad Pro so I have a big enough screen AND a keyboard to make it easier to takes notes with less distractions of getting used to a stylus and whatnot. How many of you guys take notes on an iPad and what apps do you suggest? I'm leaning towards notability. Any insights would be helpful. Thanks so much in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dndandrea Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Hi everyone! I recently got accepted to PA school and have been contemplating what way would work best for me to take notes. I'm considering buying an iPad Pro so I have a big enough screen AND a keyboard to make it easier to takes notes with less distractions of getting used to a stylus and whatnot. How many of you guys take notes on an iPad and what apps do you suggest? I'm leaning towards notability. Any insights would be helpful. Thanks so much in advance! Everyone is different. I started with notebook paper and pencil. I switched to using my laptop about 2 weeks into my first semester. I know a couple of people in my class that use their iPad and they mentioned Notability is a good app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 All 36 of us used an ipad and notability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly_Diana Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I've used my iPad and notability for some classes. For others I have used my laptop. Each class is a little different so for some classes I like to just write in the presenter notes section of the powerpoint slides. Some people import the powerpoint into OneNote as a PDF and have the slide on one side and takes notes on the other side. Also some people just create a study guide outline during lecture and type in word. Everyone has their own way that works for them and some classes you have to adapt a method you may not be used to I've found out. Thought I would give you some suggestions though of what my class and I do. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max PA17 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 We were all "given" computers and taught how to use OneNote. Works really well and everything saves automatically into OneDrive so we don't lose anything in case of a computer issue. Some still use the hard copy method. Depends on what works best for you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatChecko Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I used OneNote exclusively on my laptop. Found/Find it really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BennyD Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Almost all 30 of my class uses OneNote. You can "print" power points and instructor's notes to the program and take notes on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poshy Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Thank you all so much for your replies! I will definitely look into all the suggestions :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poshy Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Everyone is different. I started with notebook paper and pencil. I switched to using my laptop about 2 weeks into my first semester. I know a couple of people in my class that use their iPad and they mentioned Notability is a good app. I haven't experimented with notability on my own yet, but can you import a PowerPoint into it and then take notes in the app like you can in OneNote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Yes both handwritten and typed notes in notability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 OneNote! I used OneNote exclusively on my laptop. Found/Find it really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchampigny Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Pen and Paper, baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I used Notability some. Like how it synchronizes on my macbook and my iPad, and ability to record the lecture or discussion simultaneously. However, I noticed on multiple occasions that the PowerPoints didn't import correctly and information on the bottom of the slide wasn't visible in Notability. I went back to typing in PowerPoint in the Notes and/or in the Slide. I also go back and organize the information into handwritten study guides. My handwriting is too atrocious, and I type considerably faster, to write my notes in class. However, given the better retention when you physically write out information (check the research), I need every advantage to assimilate all the information coming my way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poshy Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 I used Notability some. Like how it synchronizes on my macbook and my iPad, and ability to record the lecture or discussion simultaneously. However, I noticed on multiple occasions that the PowerPoints didn't import correctly and information on the bottom of the slide wasn't visible in Notability. I went back to typing in PowerPoint in the Notes and/or in the Slide. I also go back and organize the information into handwritten study guides. My handwriting is too atrocious, and I type considerably faster, to write my notes in class. However, given the better retention when you physically write out information (check the research), I need every advantage to assimilate all the information coming my way! That's what I have been doing for my undergrad Anatomy and Physiology class, but since PA school will be at a much faster pace, do you always get the chance to rewrite your notes on paper to make study guides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 That's what I have been doing for my undergrad Anatomy and Physiology class, but since PA school will be at a much faster pace, do you always get the chance to rewrite your notes on paper to make study guides? Depends on how well I plan and manage my time! When I don't make the time, the result consistently shows on my exam performance. It also varies from course to course, and by instructor. Some instructors have all the material in their slides or other course documents or readings - In that case, it helps if you at least read through (don't try to memorize or learn!, just read) the text or any provided material BEFORE the lecture. Then you can actively listen, ask questions, not just hurriedly try to take note of every thing said during the session. Some instructors have a few random slides, but mostly they just talk, and what they say is testable - having already read the scheduled material in the book is even more critical for these sessions so that you can follow and have some idea how what they're saying connects with the textual information. Another related point to keep in mind as you figure out what study/learn techniques work best for you: no matter how your program is structured, you are learning incredibly interrelated material. You have to keep straight what is being tested at each point, but more importantly, you have to be assimilating what you learn, integrating it with what you've already learned, and keep at least some perspective on how it's all supposed to come together and be used in a clinical situation. For me, I write slow enough that I'm thinking about what I'm writing and while I'm organizing my material on the pathophysiology of hypertension, I'm also considering what I've learned in clinical laboratory medicine and/or pharmacology that applies, etc. and incorporating it for OSCEs and clinical activities. One other thing in response to the OP. I did try using a stylus, and the iPad onscreen keyboard, at first ... for about a day (if that!) -- definitely a full size keyboard user here. My lesson learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poshy Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Depends on how well I plan and manage my time! When I don't make the time, the result consistently shows on my exam performance. It also varies from course to course, and by instructor. Some instructors have all the material in their slides or other course documents or readings - In that case, it helps if you at least read through (don't try to memorize or learn!, just read) the text or any provided material BEFORE the lecture. Then you can actively listen, ask questions, not just hurriedly try to take note of every thing said during the session. Some instructors have a few random slides, but mostly they just talk, and what they say is testable - having already read the scheduled material in the book is even more critical for these sessions so that you can follow and have some idea how what they're saying connects with the textual information. Another related point to keep in mind as you figure out what study/learn techniques work best for you: no matter how your program is structured, you are learning incredibly interrelated material. You have to keep straight what is being tested at each point, but more importantly, you have to be assimilating what you learn, integrating it with what you've already learned, and keep at least some perspective on how it's all supposed to come together and be used in a clinical situation. For me, I write slow enough that I'm thinking about what I'm writing and while I'm organizing my material on the pathophysiology of hypertension, I'm also considering what I've learned in clinical laboratory medicine and/or pharmacology that applies, etc. and incorporating it for OSCEs and clinical activities. One other thing in response to the OP. I did try using a stylus, and the iPad onscreen keyboard, at first ... for about a day (if that!) -- definitely a full size keyboard user here. My lesson learned. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torshi Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 i spend most of my time fixing powerpoint slides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAMEDIC Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Here is what worked for me in the classroom:I printed out all the slides that were used in class. I liked to print them with 4 slides per page in landscape, double sided, and in color. I then would write notes in the margins. I found this worked best for me because you aren't just looking at a single slide at a time, but are seeing that slide on the same page as 3 others which gives some greater context. This helped me remember things better by having a visual imprint of the concepts and how they relate to one another. I then put all the print outs in notebooks. Lots of paper, but worth it. Here is what works for me in clinicals: I have all the slides on my ipad and use iAnnotate for organizing, searching, and reading the slides.I also have digital copies of every textbook on my iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cg02186 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Pretty much everyone in my Class just types notes into the notes portion of the PowerPoint during the lecture. Some people study that, some people make charts, I personally make a bunch of blueprint outlines where it is just Pathology, DX, physical exam findings, key words or phrases, and Tx. Works well for me but you'll just have to go trial and error for the first several weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfall Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I printed out 6 slides/sheet and just wrote side notes if instructors added anything. It's definitely A LOT of paper, but I found it time consuming to retype everything into an outline, tho half of my class did that. Whatever works for you, just do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLRP3 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I used adobe PDF reader and the comment/edit tool. You can write all over the slides and draw. Works for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.