Britanny: It’s important to take good notes because they should be something you can refer back to, not just something you scribble or type down. I would suggest writing your notes by hand so you can process the information better, especially since it’s easier to type mindlessly. From there, I created chapter/midterm study guides on a blank piece of printer paper with the main concepts on it. This was essentially a study/cram sheet that condensed my notes.
Cynthia: While you will see many people using computers to take notes, I personally recommend using tools that allow you to write them by hand. Whether you bring a writing utensil and a notebook or an iPad, it’s up to you. I used an iPad and an Apple Pencil to take my notes. I hear that writing your notes will help you absorb the information more than when you type it. Using an iPad also allows me to reduce the amount of paper I waste in never actually finishing notebooks for my designated classes.
Khanh: Taking notes by hand is better in retaining information. However, if you take notes faster typing, then that works too. Different people will have different preferences. Having an iPad is extremely useful because you will have everything in one space. If you have a professor that sends out notes in a PDF lecture slide, download it on your iPad, or print it out. Sometimes in lecture, it is better to listen to what the professor says rather than try to write what he has on the board so you can process the information (except in math class, then you should copy down the problem).
Jessica: I agree that taking notes by hand is better for most classes, whether it be on paper or an iPad. When it comes to CS classes however, it makes more sense for me to do everything on my laptop during lecture, especially since the professor will sometimes write code examples that I want to type as well. One thing I’ve learned from taking CS classes is that it's more important to listen, absorb, and understand what the professor is saying than to take notes. Most professors will have their notes available on powerpoints or on their website. You can always look over those notes again and reread them as many times as you need, but what is said in lecture only happens once. There have been many times where I just mindlessly type whatever the professor types/says without really listening. In those cases, my notes ended up being not very useful, so really try to listen in lecture!
Cynthia: It’s important that you figure out what type of learning style best suits you and see what techniques come with it. It might make the material easier to study when the time comes. As you can probably tell, I like to color code and that is reflected in my notes as well. Just find a system and stick with it.
Vy: If you’re in STEM, I highly recommend getting an iPad and an Apple pencil (or if you’re broke like me, a cheap stylus on Amazon). The iPad and pencil don’t have to be the latest model or fancy, just ones that are good enough to annotate notes, do practice problems, and draw diagrams. You won’t need to buy apps like Goodnotes or Notability either. You can just use Onenote under Microsoft Office, which will be free if you’re a UCI student. For those who can NOT afford to buy an iPad, download the Kami extension if you want to analyze documents and PDFs on your laptops/computers. While the iPad is really useful, it also depends on the class and the amount of notes you need to take. If it’s just rote memorization, I often use my laptop because I can take notes and organize them much faster when I’m typing.
Michelle: For me, a combination of written and typed notes works for me. When I write, I tend to remember better, because I use a combination of visuals and writing to fully understand the topics. And for classes such as chemistry and physics, where there are free-body diagrams, molecular structures, and many complicated formulas, it is not only easier and faster to draw on paper, yet you also get practice. A lot of my peers also used iPads, which also seem like a great tool. I want to try it as well, yet as an engineering major, I carry a laptop with Solidworks and various programs that work better on my PC, so investing in an iPad was not on my immediate list. However, classes like my introductory BME class, which was mainly lecture based, I took notes on a simple Google document, which was easier than writing since I type faster than I write.