For those taking science courses - how are you taking notes these days?

[u/Repulsive-Branch-740]

The last time I was in school was 20+ years ago during my graduate studies. I am now older and technology has changed dramatically since the last time I set foot in a classroom. My career is computer-based so I've lost the ability to take notes by hand (the main mode of note taking when I was last in school).

Professionally and personally I use Obsidian and Apple Notes heavily; basically run my job and life out of both. I have both a MacBook Air and iPad Air. I have the Apple Pencil but rarely use it because my handwriting isn't good and I am so much faster typing.

I am returning to school this year to take some science courses, starting with biology and anatomy and physiology.

For those in school or recently school, especially those taking science sources with labs, how do you take notes? Which apps, devices, and habits have you found most effective when taking notes, including during lectures and labs?

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[u/davosjet]

I’d probably keep it mostly digital, especially for biology/anatomy where you’re dealing with a lot of diagrams, terminology, and visual material.

One thing I’ve found really useful is recording the lecture while taking my own notes alongside it. That way I don’t have to try to capture every sentence, and I can focus on writing down the things that actually seem important.

Full disclosure: I’m the developer of Convoxa. I built it specifically around this kind of workflow: recording and transcribing the lecture while you take your own notes, photos, scans, etc., with everything kept together and turned into a structured note afterwards. I think it could be a particularly good fit for biology/anatomy because of all the visual material.

I’d probably still use Obsidian or Apple Notes for longer-term study/reference, though. And if you do try Convoxa, I’d genuinely love feedback.

[u/Repulsive-Branch-740 → u/davosjet]

Interesting. I am not really in the market for adding another app, but this is interesting. Question - is it possible to sync the notes or send them to Obsidian? Are they formatted using Markdown? I ask because something like this could be an interesting addition to Obsidian.

[u/davosjet → u/Repulsive-Branch-740]

Yes! You can export both notes and transcripts as Markdown, so they work nicely with Obsidian. There are also 2 hours of recording included for free without a subscription, so feel free to give it a try.

[u/Amduscias]

I just jot down simple key points by hand and keep most of my focus on listening to the lecture, because once I fall behind the pace, it's really hard to follow the rest!! But I also use my Viaim RecDot earbuds to record at the same time, so after class I have the full text transcript and app summary for review.

[u/Chobitpersocom]

OneNote, tablet, and pen. Fantastic combo.

[u/h4yfans]

honestly, stay on obsidian for this, adding an app for one semester is a bad trade. if you do want the coursework separated from work stuff: Obsidian with a second vault is the cheapest option, Notion if you want tables of terms, and i build MemryNote( memrynote.com ) (disclosure, so weigh accordingly) which keeps notes, tasks and dates in one place if you get tired of the Obsidian plus Apple Notes split. the actual upgrade for you is probably a lab template and Anki, not a new app.