I used to be an avid supporter of paper note taking. As a slow typer and a person who has trouble remembering things if they aren’t written down, it seemed to me that physically writing my notes down on paper was more beneficial to my learning. Science was on my side as well: according to multiple scientific studies, students who took notes on paper generally performed better in the classroom. In comparison to digital notetakers, they could memorize and understand the subjects being taught more effectively.
My perspective on digital note taking finally shifted in college, after I spent most of my high school years faithfully buying different notebooks for each class. The reason I shifted to digital note taking, however, was not because my beliefs were proved wrong. It still remains true that writing down information is much more helpful for me in terms of memorization, but to me, all the benefits are incomparable to the pain of having to lug multiple notebooks on my bag every day. I was tired of sloughing my way through campus every day with a hunched back and ending my classes with aching shoulders. Also, with paper note taking, I have a tendency to rewrite my notes after class. I like to reorganize my notes in a way that helps me better understand the subject, which does not always align with the way in which a professor might teach the lesson. I was also tired of doing this. Although it was quite beneficial towards my learning, it was incredibly time consuming and tedious.
So I switched to digital note taking. It significantly lightened the load on my shoulders a and appeased my perfectionism because it allowed me to adjust the organization of my notes while I was taking them. However, I still encountered problems. I hated the way my handwriting looked on my iPad, and reorganizing my notes during class sometimes took my attention away from the lecture, causing me to miss key points. I decided to switch my reorganization time to after class, but I found that it was just as time consuming as when I reorganized my paper notes because I was too focused on compensating for my unsatisfactory handwriting by making my notes appear aesthetically.
Still, I did not want to give up digital note taking—for the sake of my shoulders, I refused to go back to writing in paper notebooks. I decided to try typing my notes out. This proved to be the best method for me. With typing, it was impossible for me to find fault with my handwriting. There was also the added bonus of autocorrect, so I didn’t have to worry about spelling as much. Additionally, typing into a document allowed me to experiment with text structure easily, and reorganize my notes during class with ease. My go-to note format involves the organization of information into charts. As a visual learner, it’s helpful for me to be able to clearly separate concepts into individual groups.
In the beginning, I had my doubts. I was worried that, if I relied on digital note taking, it would be harder for me to memorize and learn new information. However, this was easily solved. In the first place, it isn’t necessary for me to memorize much information. As a liberal arts student, my coursework involves more papers than exams. In the scenario that I do need to memorize, however, I structure my notes to employ the Cornell note taking method. After class, I could summarize what I learned in my own words and go back to reread my notes, highlighting key points. This is much less time consuming than taking notes on the iPad or on paper.
Occasionally, I still find myself resorting to paper notes when I find that the memorization of information is particularly necessary for a certain class. Moreover, typing notes is only more convenient when there is a table. When there isn’t, I rely on my iPad. I also don’t always take notes using the Cornell note taking structure. Depending on the situation, different note taking formats might be more helpful. All in all, although I would consider myself a digital note taker now, flexibility is still the most important aspect to me when it comes to taking effective notes.
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