Digital Note-Taking 101

Written by Alexandra Embree

Thumbnail Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash

Photo by Tom Rogerson on Unsplash

If you’ve been in school for any number of years, you’re likely very familiar with the feeling of sifting through old notes at the end of the year, wondering if anything is worth keeping. In the scramble to reduce clutter, even the notes from your favourite classes can easily get tossed in the recycling.

Physical note-taking - that is, putting pen or pencil to paper - is well-loved by many learners over typed notes, and for good reason: studies have demonstrated that taking hand-written notes can help significantly with material retention and focus during lectures. The act of physically writing out your notes forces you to quickly digest information in order to summarize it, primarily because people tend to write much slower than they type. It is highly recommended by neuroscientists and learning experts to write out notes as opposed to using a laptop if you want to retain information and ace your tests.

Unfortunately, physical note-taking has a couple of downsides. For environmentally conscious students, going through stacks of paper per semester can seem excessive and wasteful. If you live in a dorm room, you may find that physical notebooks quickly pollute your personal space. Additionally, large binders and notebooks get heavy fast, and can contribute to back pain and strain if you don’t have an ergonomic backpack. 

Enter digital note-taking. When I decided to return to school, I knew as a commuter and as someone who has previously struggled with the organization of loose notes that finding the right note taking solution would be instrumental to my success. I did a lot of research and found that most options on this market fall into three categories - notebooks, boards, and tablets. 

Reusable Notebooks

This was the option that I went with to simplify my note-taking, and I have no regrets. The premise of this option is that the device looks and feels like a normal notebook (albeit a bit thinner). The pages of these notebooks are smooth and when written on with a FriXion pen can be erased with a bit of water and a microfiber cloth. 

The elegant thing about reusable notebooks is that they are often integrated with an application that simplifies note storage. The front-runner in the reusable notebook market is currently Rocketbook, and I have personally really enjoyed using their products. In the Rocketbook mobile application, you can associate a number of little symbols with different folders in your cloud account - whether that be Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or any other cloud service you prefer. Every semester, I assign each symbol to one of my classes, but how you organize is up to you!

The application seamlessly scans each page of your notes using only your phone camera. It can also detect whatever symbol you have drawn on the bottom of the page, and automatically redirects your notes to the designated folder. After scanning, you can erase the page and re-use it for later, or you can wait until your notebook is full to have a quick reference to recent notes.

There are a couple of notable downsides to this option, despite it filling a specific niche. One is that the cost of buying specialized erasable pens can add up, and if you’re disposing of them instead of refiling them the environmental impact is still there. Having to erase the pages periodically can also be a chore, given that you have to dry them afterwards to preserve the page. Finally, if you aren’t careful, the ink can run as you take notes, since it takes 5-10 seconds for it to settle on the page. 

Boards

Alternative names for products in this category are “writing tablet” and “doodle pad”, and the easiest way to think of a board is that it acts as a miniature whiteboard. One of the most popular brands in this space is Boogie Board, who carries products like the Boogie Board Jot that is highly representative of this category. Boards are the most affordable option for those looking to reduce their loose paper usage, and they are likely to be most useful for creative processes like brainstorming, or for grocery lists and to-do lists. The lack of long-term storage synchronization typically makes boards the least versatile of the three options, though they can be paired with a phone camera for long term storage. However, bear in mind that consistently taking legible photos will likely be a challenge.

One product that has a lot of promise for the digitization of board written notes is the Rocketbook beacons. They work similarly to the brand’s digital notebooks by simplifying long term note storage through easy scanning and cloud synchronization.

Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash

Tablets and Touchscreen Laptops

While these are the most versatile option, they are the most expensive method of digital note-taking. Laptops and tablets are big investments, but they can be incredibly efficient at keeping all of your course information in one place. Applications like Microsoft’s OneNote are great to pair with these devices.

If you’re considering an investment in a tablet or laptop with tablet/touchscreen capabilities, I strongly caution you to research how the touchscreen fares with stylus writing - try an in-store demo if you can. If writing on the touchscreen is an awkward experience, it won’t be a sustainable habit. Unfortunately, many laptops that claim touchscreen compatibility are not stylus compatible, so be aware of this distinction!

Another consideration when investing in a tablet or laptop for note-taking is the stylus itself. Not all styluses are built equal. Styluses can be distinguished in part by whether they are “active” or “capacitive”. Active styluses contain electronic components and can thus add quite a bit to the writing experience by doing things like detecting pressure and preventing your resting hand from interfering with your writing (called palm-rejection). In contrast, passive styluses are more lightweight and inexpensive, but can be frustrating for note-taking. 

In Summary

The perfect solution for digital note-taking may not be available yet, but the offerings are growing every year. Adopting a digital note-taking strategy will allow you to get organized, avoid clutter, and cut down on paper waste while still reaping the benefits of hand-written note-taking. So what are you waiting for? Take control of your learning today by investing in educational tools that will help you get the most out of your classes.