Pen Still Mightier Than the Laptop For Notetaking?

theodp writes "While waiting to see if the iPad is a game-changer, this CS student continues to take class notes with pen and paper while her fellow students embrace netbooks and notebooks. Why? In addition to finding the act of writing helps cement the lecture material in her mind, there's also the problem of keeping up with the professor: '[While taking notes on a laptop] every five minutes I found myself cursing at not being able to copy the diagram on the board.' So, when it comes to education or business, do you take notes on a notepad/netbook, or stick with good old-fashioned handwriting? Got any tips for making the transition, or arguments for staying the course?"

So do I

[Xamusk]

I've tried to do it on the laptop, but graphs, tables, annotations, colors, mathematical formalae (sometimes many of those together) are all too difficult to handle in a timely fashion when using a laptop.

Another data point...

[Anonymous Coward]

I teach math at a university. In the last 10 years, I've only had one student who tried to take all her notes with a computer. This is her third time taking the course. Coincidence?

Notebook and Webcam/Camera Phone and OneNote

[hadesan]

I take notes all the time with my laptop. You can use your camera phone or webcam to snap a photo of the diagrams. If you have permission, record the lecture as well if you have a built-in microphone (use Dragon Naturally Speaking or something similar to write the notes automatically.)

Offer to share the information with your prof or student teacher and they will usually give you the green light or become the note taker for the class (some schools have them for hard of hearing/deaf students - R.I.T. [rit.edu])...

If you use something like MS OneNote [microsoft.com] you can drop all these separate pieces onto the note pages and keep them better organized. Text, your notes, the sound clips, and the diagrams...

Re:Notes

[iamhassi]

"I don't buy the handwriting being better for memory. "

You don't have to "buy" it, it's true [lifehack.org]

Re:Notes

[codegen]

I suspect what he meant by a fountain pen was a cartridge based nib pen. They are still readily available, and were what I used to take notes with when I was a student. I personally find them easier to write with than ball point pens. The only problem they have is a tendency to leak if you are not careful.

Livescribe Pulsepen

[mikethicke]

Not to be a shill, but I've been using the Livescribe Pulsepen [livescribe.com] for about a year and it's perfect for class notes. It records what you write then uploads your notes to your computer, along with audio that is sync'd to your notes, so you can hear what was being said while you were writing. You can convert notes to text using 3rd party software, but I've found it to be better just to leave it in handwritten form. The search function actually works pretty well for handwritten notes.

Re:Notes

[OrangeCatholic]

You got a writer's callus at 15? We (U.S.) had those in elementary school. Lot of pencil from what I recall.

Re:Notes

[rhsanborn]

My handwriting is not great, and I have found that one note is very good with handwriting recognition, and this has been with limited use, so no need to make a large time investment in adjusting your handwriting style to meet the needs of the handwriting software.

Re:Notes

[podom]

Totally off-topic, but I find the Pilot G-2 gel ink pen (I like the 0.7 mm) to be as good as any fountain pen I've ever used. Inexpensive, writes beautifully, and consistently works until the ink runs out, which, incidentally, is about 20x as long as a cartridge fountain pen.

Re: Notes

[Anonymous Coward]

Inexpensive and reliable: Pilot 78G, Reform 1745.
Mid priced and reliable (but the line is always too wide even in the extra fine): Lamy Safari, Lamy Al-Star.
Mid priced and reliable (you need to do a little research): Sheaffer Snorkel, many other 'golden age' pens.
Expensive and nice: Pelikan, Pilot Myu 90, Pilot Vanishing Point (retractable! very practical), many others.
Inexpensive and may be reliable (get a 10 pack and test, a good one is great, a cheap one is thrown away): Hero 600, Hero 927.
Overpriced: Anything Italian.
Overpriced and wonderful (i.e. ask for it as a gift): Nakaya, Edison, others.
The "I just want to get one at a store and not pay a lot": Go to Target, look for Pilot Plumix, they've had them recently (purple, blue, black bodies) and they are mixed quality, but the nice ones are very nice and are 'stubs' which makes anyone's handwriting look 20% better (a Reagan administration study proved this :). If you like them, you can get more cartridges online or even a converter so you can use bottled ink. $6 or $7 (I got several and use the best one a *lot*).

Reviews: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/forum/34-fountain-pen-reviews/ [fountainpennetwork.com]
Places to buy: http://www.oscarbraunpens.com/ [oscarbraunpens.com], http://www.isellpens.com/ [isellpens.com], http://www.pendemonium.com/ [pendemonium.com], http://www.peartreepens.com/ [peartreepens.com], http://www.hisnibs.com/ [hisnibs.com], many others (check reputation on fountainPenNetwork.com). I can recommend the eBay name: Speerbob; and the top of the line repair/modify guy: http://www.richardspens.com/ [richardspens.com] if you want something specific (e.g. XXXXF or a 'stub')

If you have the money (around a hundred bucks for the pen), get a Pilot (Namiki) Vanishing Point ("Capless" outside the US) which is retractable (like a ball point), reliable, can take cartridges if you like, can take ink from a bottle (inexpensive with good quality and LOADS of colors). Get some Noodler's ink (again, see fountainpennetwork.com for reviews) and maybe a backup pen (say, a Fisher 'Space pen') and you're set.

I hardly ever use ballpoints anymore, and *not* cheap ones (Bic sticks, ugh).

Fountain pens are different, there are certainly downsides, but if your hand cramps, or if you write a lot, you owe it to yourself to look into them, and look into the right way to write (you can do it right with a fountain pen, not so much with a ballpoint). Hint: If you press hard when writing with pens now, don't do that with a fountain pen!