Notes on paper or on laptop

[AdriannaXX]

Hello,! 

I am an IB student and I am struggling with a certain aspect which is taking notes . Writing things down on paper in my notebooks takes time, but I feel like I remember more. On the other hand, typing things on my laptop is quicker, but then requires printing it and it does not always feel comfortable to study from printed text 

Do you have any tips what is the best way to make notes?

[IB_taking_over]

Personally, I took almost all of my notes on paper. In class or when reading a book I found it easier to jot stuff down in a notebook rather than a laptop. I think that writing down information is better for retaining it. 

Some will suggest Cornell style notes, but I'm not a fan. They are very structured so I use my own method. Basically, I write the section headings at the top, followed by bullet point notes. 

[Djsporting]

Personally, throughout the IB I took notes on my laptop and then printed it out and read from them. This worked for me, but what works for me may not work for you. I just feel like having everything on your laptop makes it much more organized. For example, for my Business notes I wrote them down according to the number on the syllabus and when it came to revising for the exams apart from past papers I just read the notes, it was crucial for achieving my 7.  I would make them on your laptop and then read them over and over again. If you feel handwritten notes are better I'd get a notebook and write them down and then perhaps write them over again. A girl in my Physics class did this and she achieved some pretty high scores too. 

 

 

[Vioh]

I think it's matter of habit when it comes to the question of which way is the most efficient way of taking notes. I used to be taking notes by hand. Back in those days, typing was a no no to me because it felt like I didn't understand the information that I typed down at all. But now, taking notes on a computer has become quite natural to me. Personally, I feel like you can train yourself to become comfortable with any style of note taking. If, for some reason, I was forced to take notes by hand, then I would train myself to achieve the same learning outcomes as if I was typing my notes. And vice versa. So I think you can be comfortable with either ways of note taking, as far as the actual learning is concerned. For me, the comparison really lies in the discussion of which way is more convenient. One of my main motivations for typing the notes instead of writing by hands is that it's so much easier to delete and edit the notes on a computer than on paper. On computer, it looks like you haven't made any mistakes in your notes at all, but on papers, all the edits just look like a mess. Besides, my high school notes are very important too me; in fact, much more important than the diploma itself, because to me, the notes provide a concrete proof that I've actually obtained the knowledge that I've obtained. And I just don't want to have these knowledge on a bunch of notebooks that I have to carry around in my suitcases every time I move. In contrast, it takes literally zero effort to save these files on a computer.