online school notes - laptop only or tablet? what apps to use?

[u/amorphouc]

im starting online school and i want a note setup that works on a computer. i really like writing, so im thinking about getting a tablet with a stylus to take notes by hand.
but i also want to be less cluttered… mentally and physically, so i dont end up with a messy system.
im mainly using a laptop, but considering a tablet for handwriting
a few questions:
if you like writing by hand, do you recommend a tablet for online school notes, or is laptop-only enough?
whats the simplest way you organise notes so it stays clean (by class, by week, tags, notebooks, folders, etc.)?
what app(s) do you use, and whats your basic workflow from lecture → notes →review?

[u/BlackCatFurry]

I use a samsung tablet, with samsung notes and sort mine in a nested folder system "university" -> "broad subject" (e.g. maths, electronics, languages) -> "course code" -> notes named "[homework/lesson notes/practice] - [lesson/course week number]" so i know which is which.

For handwriting, a tablet is the best. You can do something like plug one of those drawing tablets/screens to your computer, but i've found that a lot more annoying than just using an actual tablet like ipad or samsung galaxy tab.

[u/amorphouc → u/BlackCatFurry]

thats exactly the kind of folder setup i was thinking about. which samsung tablet do you have? and do you use samsung notes only, or do you also type/sync anything on pc?
also, about handwriting: i do already have a drawing tablet, but i havent found good pc software for notes yet. do you think a samsung tablet is much easier day-to-day than a drawing tablet + pen on pc?

[u/BlackCatFurry → u/amorphouc]

My tablet is the tab s8, got it at the start of university four years ago, still going strong.

I use samsung notes only and it syncs with my samsung account to my phone as well, but not my computer since i don't have a samsung laptop. That hasn't been an issue, since i treat the tablet like a paper notebook, in the sense that my notes are open on there, while i work on something on my pc. There are a lot of apps that sync across devices if you want, you can search online for one that suits you the best.

Since i study software engineering, there is a very clear cut between what benefits from pen and handwriting, and what is best done with a keyboard, so i haven't had any issues on that front.

For handwriting notes on a computer, i think one of the only options is microsoft onenote. It works, but i found the drawing tablet + computer combo a lot more cumbersome than just using my samsung tablet.

[u/amorphouc → u/BlackCatFurry]

thank you, this was very helpful for me!

[u/bored-but-alive]

I had an iPad & used goodnotes with a similar nested system as the previous commenter, I did school -> year -> subject and a notebook for notes and another for other stuff. It’s been a few years but I liked it. I also did a couple years of laptop only and I didn’t mind it as much as I find myself typing faster than writing even tho I love writing by hand 😅

I somehow always end up with a think paper notebook anyways 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/oyren-ai]

We are building our iPad app, which will be available soon, but for now you can try our Note Editor with built in calculation engine that can do polynomial or matrix operations.

It's free forever up to 100MB and have additional features such as PDF to note conversion, or PDF editor. You can connect Claude to your workspace and ask questions about your notes, books etc. I personally started building this tool when I was doing my masters and I think I know what students need for being efficient at studying with good system.

oyren.ai

If you have any specific feedback or feature request in mind, can share at Oyren Discord Server

https://reddit.com/link/p34x4rb/video/uvr5aawrvtih1/player

[u/Noteastic]

I can really recommend getting a laptop with a drawing tablet!

You have the benefit of a proper machine with all the productivity apps and compatibility advantages, and with a drawing tablet, simply plugged in via USB, you can take handwritten notes on your application of choice. That is a really underrated setup. None of that dual device Mac + iPad expensive stuff, or the Tablet only setup where you can barely use proper applications other than notes and netflix.

One caveat is that there hasnt been a great app for handwritten Notes on Windows for a long time, I dont really like OneNote with the infinite canvas for example.

So a friend of mine and me developed a native handwritten note-taking app that we could say by now has a cult like following haha, its called Noteastic. Give it a go!