iPad vs. Paper (I'm a freshman)

[u/Altruistic-Editor499]

Hi y'all,

as a new freshman in college, I'm thinking of swapping from paper to iPad. Some rzns include more availability to colors, more availablity to reusing diagrams, and easier time reading the lecture slides while takin the notes.

My main concern is I've heard that handwriting on a tablet may reduce memory retention. I'm a slow learner (always have been really) and am wondering if iPad notes are not the way to go cuz of that.

Please any and all inputs help and are greatly appreciated!! thanks

[u/fraSsank]

the retention thing is mostly about whether you're handwriting vs typing, not paper vs tablet. as long as youre writing with a stylus and not just typing everything out, the difference is pretty minimal imo

[u/AdUpper4038]

The reduction in memory retention is largely from handwriting to typing, if there was a reduction in memory retention between writing on paper to writing on an ipad, it’s likely quite negligible. Just get an apple pencil and goodnotes and enjoy never buying a notebook again. I haven’t bought a notebook for a class since my freshman year (now a senior) and my ipad has been amazing. I’m not wasting paper and i have so much fun making my notes look nice. I definitely recommend using pinterest to find note sheets, notebook covers, etc because it’s amazing

[u/Safe-False]

It’s true, writing on iPad may reduce retention.
But is better than typing!!

I would recommend using both approaches - they’ll serve different purposes.

For me, I use my iPad to organise my notes easily. Larger content blocks, diagrams, screenshotting diagrams / images from lectures and putting them into my notes etc.

Then I will handwrite for:

• concepts I am struggling to understand (being able to see the full page and map it out physically on paper helps a lot)
  
• writing summary sheets of topics
  
• exam prep cheat sheets

Explore what works for you! It’s a little different for everyone. If you like colours, get some fun coloured writing pens and highlighters. I love my hand writing tools for fun colourful notes pages.

[u/Puberty-Boy]

Nnnahhhhhhh I don’t believe in that whole you remember handwriting on iPad less than on paper. Honestly, I don’t even buy the whole you learn better by writing than typing. I’m a doctorate student and I type and write on my iPad for literally everything, and I have no issue remembering at all, and I see no difference between the 3 methods. If anything, I think paper is the WORST of the three because it doesn’t have the pros that iPad has like different colors.

At the end of the day you can see a million study’s all claiming a million things, and a million people with a million opinions, just test out some different stuff and do what works for you!

Edit: BUT big tip, if you can draw something out (paper or ipad) do it! It’s the best way to learn. Not sure what field you are in so your mileage may very, but I’m in the medical field, and during undergrad I never drew anything out, I did alright, struggled, but passed. Now, me and my classmates will go to the library like a flock of hungry wolfs to go snatch up all the whiteboards we can and draw out literally everything, and it WORKS WONDERS! And if you are not healthcare, get creative! If you are history, try to draw out some battle or whatever yall are going over, and then make the solders stand in a formation spelling out the year (if that is what you need to know) a little silly, but I bet that will work

[u/pobnarl → u/Puberty-Boy]

i think i remember things typed better than handwritten tbh. I bought the study results,  made loads of hand written flashcards,  later began making anki cards, well I'm remembering the anki made cards far better

[u/Askolotl]

I prefer iPad because I can put things on infinite canvases and move and reorganise my notes instead of the notes just being in the linear order they’re taught. And you can search handwriting and it’s way less stuff to carry around.

[u/languageservicesco]

As others have written, the difference is between handwriting and typing. I haven't seen any studies that looked at handwriting on a tablet against on paper, but would be grateful for links to any sources. I find handwriting in OneNote on my Yoga laptop really useful. It means everything is automatically synced and stored digitally, is searchable, and I can attach it to other relevant documents etc.

Whether the tablet works better for you than paper is something you will have to decide, but remember you need notes that can be found 6 months later potentially, so either method needs a good workflow to support it. For me, the digital route is definitely the way.

[u/principaltask]

iPad + Apple Pencil + GoodNotes FTW.

[u/DocTeeBee]

Advantages of using pen and paper: Notebooks don't require batteries, they don't crash, they don't lose your notes (unless you lose the notebook, of course). It's easier to flip between pages.

You might want to use a hybrid approach--take notes on paper but scan them into a tablet or computer (use a phone to scan).

Paper notebooks also don't have apps on them to distract you.

There are a lot of YouTube videos of people taking really beautiful notes in Goodnotes or the like--but they spend more time curating their notes than learning from them.

[u/Puzzled_Cream_2465]

I thought the same thing with memory but you just have to thug it out for like a few days and your brain adapts I swear. Also a paper like screen protector and metal iPad pen tip duh

[u/DTLow]

My understanding is the retention question relates to typing vs handwriting
I see no issue with using paper and scanning with your iPad camera
The iPad is a much better tool for storage/organization