Tablets in College

daniels.ducks

Anyone use a tablet in college? Thinking of getting one just for lectures and things. They are supposed to be less distracting as you can only do one thing on them at a time. i.e looking at notes.

J_E

Depends on what you want to do with it exactly. You'd want to get a keyboard for it if you're going to be doing typing, as it'll be more finicky typing on the screen itself fast. There are some apps that will let you type and doodle which is handy. Having said that...call me old fashioned, but there's something to be said for a simple pen and paper.

If you are able to stay off the likes of games/social apps and find a good way to categorise notes, it could make a very intuitive way of studying. Just make sure to link your device to something like Dropbox though, as the last thing you want is to lose all of your notes through a broken device or whatever. If you've got a friend who has a tablet, maybe ask them if you can use it for a lecture and see how it goes.

In terms of what tablet to get, you're best looking at something Android based, perhaps a Nexus 7 or something on that level. Alternatively there is always the likes of the Microsoft Surface but make sure you know what you're getting. Best of luck!

VanishingActs

I got one at Christmas and I'm really glad I did. I used it for notes all last semester and took far better and more notes than I did the semester before. I also did all my reading on it, went through articles on it and planned essays/assignments. I did just get a keyboard to use next semester to make life a bit easier but I really was fine without a real keyboard.

Polar Ice

I don't personally have one, but a lot of people in my course do and we've been talking about the advantages and disadvantages recently.

Most people say it's easier to read articles on a tablet than from a laptop due to the way you can position a tablet more like the way you'd hold a piece of paper.

I don't see many people use a tablet to take notes. You'd need a keyboard for that.

Generally they're lighter and have a longer battery life than a laptop, which is a big plus.

daniels.ducks wrote: »

They are supposed to be less distracting as you can only do one thing on them at a time

The same could be said about a laptop. It's as easy to lose focus on a tablet and end up on facebook or a game. It's more down to you than the device.

wnolan1992

I find mine very handy. Our lecturers generally put lab/tutorial sheets up beforehand, and it's easier than messing around with sheets of paper in most cases.

Slugs

Quick question, what's the policy with bringing voice recorders into class? Do you have to clear it with the lecturers beforehand?

mrmeindl

Depends what your taking some people like Ritalin.

Popoutman

Regarding taping the lecturers, approach the lecturer outside of lectures to clear it with them - otherwise it is quite rude to just drop a recording device without clearing it.

Personally I dislike using tablets/laptops for note-taking. Given you will not be able to use an electronic device in the exams, you'll recall more of the lectures having written the notes from in the lectures. Very few people can type fast and accurately enough to take proper notes while a lecturer is speaking (and if you can, consider a career in journalism instead) and you end up spending a little bit of time with the device interaction instead of concentrating on the lecture subject matter. Using a tablet as a reference or textbook addition is not a bad idea, but you should get in the habit of taking paper notes instead of on a device.

Reliance on electronic devices will bite you hard in the case of failure as paper isn't as likely to fail in the same way. Best of both worlds is to scan the paper notes you take in lectures.