Note taking: Laptop or Handwritten (1 Viewer)

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Due to lockdown, I have been taking class notes digitally for all my subjects but prior to lockdown i have been doing a mix of both handwritten and digital which is not effective. I've decided to just stick to one, well try. I'm leaning towards digital but I have seen a few threads where digital notes are not mentioned and only written notes are used. I personally do not have much of a preference but lean towards digital as it is easier to copy and paste for future notes. But if anyone has opinion as to whether doing written or digital notes - for both class and study- please do comment, thank you.
 

GirlWeStressed

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I find it much easier doing everything digital, and because of COVID my school has completely supported that in all senior subjects. Whether or not students stick to physical is still at their own discretion, but almost all senior classes use OneNote, and every staff and student utilises Microsoft Teams.

I know quite a few people take digital notes and right them later physically to keep up in class. What I like to do is keep digital class notes exclusively, and when I write summaries for topis I right it all digitally then copy it into a book.
 

jimmysmith560

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Digital notes are more efficient with respect to the time you need to make them when compared to written notes. Also, they are easily accessible, as you can organise them into files and folders according to their relevant subject and, more specifically, according to their relevant concept/module/topic. Additionally, the fact that you will need to go through your notes on multiple occasions (instead of only once) will result in you becoming more confident and comfortable with your understanding and ability to effectively manipulate content from your respective subjects, irrespective of the type of notes you end up making (i.e. enhancing your memory). I would perceive this from a time management perspective (time feasibility). For instance, if you choose to write your notes, will you be able to effectively do so in a timely manner?

From my experience in the HSC and at university, I personally found digital notes to be better overall, particularly in the long term (mainly because I needed to come back to and revise those notes at some point in time). However, this doesn't mean that I didn't utilise handwritten notes to supplement my learning, particularly during year 12. I used handwritten notes to a much lower extent at university than I did in year 12, mainly because there is a very wordy aspect to my degree. Of course, I believe that handwritten notes would be more beneficial when studying/revising/preparing for subjects such as maths and science, where you may be required to draw certain shapes/graphs/diagrams, meaning that it would be a good idea to make handwritten notes for those subjects as that would constitute a good attempt to master a particular concept/topic or improve where required. This would be applicable to both year 12 and studies beyond the HSC, such as university studies. For any other subjects that don't involve such elements, I believe that digital notes would be both more efficient and effective in terms of your studies.

I hope this helps! :D
 

Yakult1

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I never wrote a single physical note in my entire HSC year whilst doing 5 units of history amongst my other subjects. For me theres honestly no point in creating physical notes because the notes are just tools you use to do well in an exam setting. What I would do was type up my notes, read through them, do a practice paper with my notes besides me, mark that, and then do the same exam without my notes. After doing that I would usually find that my paper I did after consolidating with my notes + the marking criteria was much higher in quality and it allowed me to eventually apply my knowledge to a variety of different questions. At the end of the day, you can do well with whatever method of note taking you choose, it's all about how you apply those notes to an exam setting, thats what separates you from others.
 
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After doing that I would usually find that my paper I did after consolidating with my notes + the marking criteria was much higher in quality and it allowed me to eventually apply my knowledge to a variety of different questions. At the end of the day, you can do well with whatever method of note taking you choose, it's all about how you apply those notes to an exam setting, thats what separates you from others.
Oooh I liked this, thank you!! Do you have tips on how to use the marking criteria properly?
 
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Digital notes are more efficient with respect to the time you need to make them when compared to written notes. Also, they are easily accessible, as you can organise them into files and folders according to their relevant subject and, more specifically, according to their relevant concept/module/topic. Additionally, the fact that you will need to go through your notes on multiple occasions (instead of only once) will result in you becoming more confident and comfortable with your understanding and ability to effectively manipulate content from your respective subjects, irrespective of the type of notes you end up making (i.e. enhancing your memory). I would perceive this from a time management perspective (time feasibility). For instance, if you choose to write your notes, will you be able to effectively do so in a timely manner?

From my experience in the HSC and at university, I personally found digital notes to be better overall, particularly in the long term (mainly because I needed to come back to and revise those notes at some point in time). However, this doesn't mean that I didn't utilise handwritten notes to supplement my learning, particularly during year 12. I used handwritten notes to a much lower extent at university than I did in year 12, mainly because there is a very wordy aspect to my degree. Of course, I believe that handwritten notes would be more beneficial when studying/revising/preparing for subjects such as maths and science, where you may be required to draw certain shapes/graphs/diagrams, meaning that it would be a good idea to make handwritten notes for those subjects as that would constitute a good attempt to master a particular concept/topic or improve where required. This would be applicable to both year 12 and studies beyond the HSC, such as university studies. For any other subjects that don't involve such elements, I believe that digital notes would be both more efficient and effective in terms of your studies.

I hope this helps! :D
I'm going to stick to physical notes for maths and possibly chemistry as well, I think I can do physics digitally. Since I have a 2 in 1 laptop and can use its inking ability I may use it for class notes but then handwrite study notes. Thank you so much, you've probably answered tons of these questions before, so sorry about that :'D
 

xibu34

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I think digital for every subject except Maths and Physics.

Those NEED to be handwritten IMO.
 

Ava342

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Handwritten! It's so much more helpful because it forces you to memorise as opposed to typing (where you can just copy paste stuff) but I guess it depends on what subject its for
 

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