Technology in classes/university.

[Patters]

So after reading this article from Tested, I wonder how many people use/have used tech during uni, and what you have used it for.

For me the main things I use are a computer, with Adobe Reader and one of these. I wonder if I didn't use so many characters which aren't standard on keyboards if I would change this. I don't really need textbooks, I have a ton of resources online, so I have no need for an e-reader.

Maybe my degree is slightly backwards (Maths) seeing as I know that the majority of lecturers insist on chalkboards opposed to whiteboards.

What I am asking is: can a piece of tech ever be more practical than a pen and some paper?

[elmuerte]

What I am asking is: can a piece of tech ever be more practical than a pen and some paper?

Yes. Paper doesn't record audio. Paper cannot be searched easily. Duplicating the contents of paper isn't as easy.

Since September 2003 I only took my laptop with me to lectures. The only downside of a laptop compared to paper was that lack of sketching.

[Nappi]

I seldom bring my laptop with me on lectures or exercises. Taking notes (even copying everything the lecturer writes on the whiteboard) helps me learn and I can't imagine writing the equations or copying the diagrams on my computer.

I still use computer a lot in my studies. That doesn't meant I'm gonna get rid of my pencil or notebook anytime soon, though.

Maybe my degree is slightly backwards (Maths) seeing as I know that the majority of lecturers insist on chalkboards opposed to whiteboards.

I don't see how whiteboards would be improvements over chalkboards at all.

[Brannigan]

Whiteboards are clearly better because you can't make that awful scratching noise with them.

[miffy495]

I'm allergic to only one thing. Chalk dust. If I'm in a classroom with a whiteboard, my head is not swimming in grogginess. It's a plus.

[Sombre]

If I take my laptop into class, I end up on Spelunky. If I try to use books, I get irritated because I can't ctrl+f.

The future is tricky

[Thompson]

About paper not being able to record audio, I saw a notebook in a store here that records audio so you can write your ultra-fast notes on the paper in class then take it home and replay the audio and take better notes.

Also, everything you write on the paper is recorded and you can transfer that, along with the audio, on to your computer.

[miffy495]

I find bringing laptops to class to be irritating and disrespectful, honestly. A recording device I get, but every single time I've seen someone use a laptop during a class, they're on Facebook or chatting or some other shit. It's not like the professors don't know it, either. I was talking to my supervisor once and he said that he cringed every time a computer came out because he knew that it meant one less student actually engaging with the class. As such, though I brought my laptop to school with me, I only ever used it between classes. During class, handwritten notes all the way. With a fountain pen for extra classiness. There were a couple of times my pen was out of ink and I took notes in my word processor, but I tried extra hard to be involved in the class those times just so that I didn't come off as just another asshole idly surfing the web during class time.

I can see how bringing a computer to class could be useful in classes that actually need you to use them, media arts and programming classes and such, but I made it a personal rule that for my philosophy degree my computer stayed in my bag. English, psych, and other such things should probably follow suit as well. The worst offender was in an anthropology course I took as a breadth option when the people in front of me spent a class watching the entire Black Sheep DVD. Why the hell are you even showing up?

[Patters]

I find bringing laptops to class to be irritating and disrespectful, honestly. A recording device I get, but every single time I've seen someone use a laptop during a class, they're on Facebook or chatting or some other shit. It's not like the professors don't know it, either. I was talking to my supervisor once and he said that he cringed every time a computer came out because he knew that it meant one less student actually engaging with the class. As such, though I brought my laptop to school with me, I only ever used it between classes. During class, handwritten notes all the way. With a fountain pen for extra classiness. There were a couple of times my pen was out of ink and I took notes in my word processor, but I tried extra hard to be involved in the class those times just so that I didn't come off as just another asshole idly surfing the web during class time.

I can see how bringing a computer to class could be useful in classes that actually need you to use them, media arts and programming classes and such, but I made it a personal rule that for my philosophy degree my computer stayed in my bag. English, psych, and other such things should probably follow suit as well. The worst offender was in an anthropology course I took as a breadth option when the people in front of me spent a class watching the entire Black Sheep DVD. Why the hell are you even showing up?

Yeah, I have taken a laptop to uni for between lectures, we do have our own computer lab though, though most are running on Celeron processors and the network is awful. As I have said before, most of my online resources are PDFs, with widely ranging quality from Bad to great.

I could quite easily print them out, but flipping through a load of papers as I frequently do is no way near as fast as using a few tabs on Google chrome.

As for notes, I simply couldn't do this as fast on a PC as I can with a pen:

[Armchair General]

The answer is 42, this much I know.

[dibs]

The answer is 42, this much I know.

iff 42 is open.

[Patters]

iff 42 is open.

{42} is closed.

[dibs]

Getting back to it, I used to have a take a lot of stuff like Patters's above, as well as a lot of diagrams. A laptop would have been compeletly unsuitable. Thouhg it is a few years since i was an undergrad, i do remember 1 person using a laptop, but it was only to recored lectures. I think a pen and paper is far superior for taking notes in any case. how else do you write sideways in margis and put arrows up to the important stuff.

[James]

About paper not being able to record audio, I saw a notebook in a store here that records audio[...]

If you're referring to what I think you are, I believe most of the technology is in the pen.

[Snooglebum]

I could quite easily print them out, but flipping through a load of papers as I frequently do is no way near as fast as using a few tabs on Google chrome.

As for notes, I simply couldn't do this as fast on a PC as I can with a pen:

(image of notes)

*ripped out of context*

This doesn't work for me at allI write at a glacial pace, but type with the speed of a hurricane. I frequently have trouble keeping up with the pace of what the teachers saying with my note-taking.

Sadly, I can't use a laptop, because my current laptop was found in a dumpster, and I have to tape the battery in to keep it from falling out.

[James]

I haven't tried much note-taking on computers, as I didn't have a laptop until well after university, but for as much as I have tried it, it seemed far too linear, even for straightforward non-symbol-heavy stuff. I'm not a great note-taker anyway, though, so it may be more to do with that than anything else. It might also be a matter of technology. Is there any software specifically for the purpose, or do people just use word processors? It could even be a psychological thing. It could be that when I see an empty word processor page, I expect to fill it with paragraphed prose.

[Moelman]

I wish Microsoft Courier was still a real thing coming out, that would replace basically everything I'd need for classes. Currently, I bring my laptop to classes that are either really boring, or are computer science courses. I would love to have all my textbooks on an ipad or something because I use my textbooks so rarely but they are still required, it sucks to pay so much for them and lug them around everywhere. I'll take pen and paper notes if its a class with math like accounting or where the professor doesn't allow laptops.