University students--do you take your laptops to class?

[brianeyci]

What sort of classes do people take that not only is it easier to take notes with a computer but the distraction afforded by gaming and the internet outweighs the ease of note-taking?

Humanities.

To get the edge in humanities and essay writing, I found the professor mentions little bits of information that aren't in the textbook. They talk very fast. The more you write down, the more you can shut into your essays, and show that you're paying attention.

Oh yeah, some people don't have a problem getting distracted by games and the Internet . Also, if you have eight humanities courses, it might be better to carry notes for all eight courses in one laptop instead of eight binders. Stuff like education, politics, history, etc.

I would stress that if you do this, back up your shit. In three different places. I abandoned it though, because I stopped taking humanities, and also because I don't like risk.

Also I type far faster than I write, and I'm a kinetic learner so I have to write or type to learn.

[RogueIce]

I can type wicked-fast

You are dead to me now.

Well, I don't know. I can type wicked-fast, don't game and would probably be able to watch what was going on better if I was typing, but it's a bit noisy and possibly distracting for everyone. However, that wasn't really the bit that had me concerned--I thought it might be possible that schools were making it mandatory to bring laptops to class. If some local middle school could do it, then it seemed at least reasonably likely that universities might have adopted the same regulation.

I'm doing my degree in education, so I'm not sure how useful or not it would be to take my notes directly onto my computer or not, but I was really just trying to gauge whether or not the computer note-taking was a widespread thing.

For me, it was simply easier to use a notebook and pen/pencil than try to set up my laptop. Then again mine was fairly large-ish I suppose, and it would be a pain to use in the auditorium seats or those stupid high school desks that made up most of my classrooms. Those few I had with genuine tables would have worked better I guess.

Battery life of course is an issue, as getting access to an outlet may not always be possible.

Essentially I'd say do a recon of the classroom and decide for yourself. If it looks like trying to set up a laptop in your seating area is more trouble than it's worth, then you're probably better off with pen and paper. On the other hand if it's reasonably roomy, you can get to an outlet and/or your battery will last you an hour or so, then go for it.

I don't know of any universities that might require you to have one, but I suppose you could find out for yourself faily easily.

[InnocentBystander]

I only bring my laptop to class when I don't plan on paying full attention. I tried taking notes with it; but its really more of a distraction for when you've got little to no interest in the majority of what is going on in class. But this sort of thing is for large lectures; I wouldn't dream of bringing my laptop to a little 26 person hum class of course.

[Zaia]

You are dead to me now.

YES! Mission accomplished.

For me, it was simply easier to use a notebook and pen/pencil than try to set up my laptop. Then again mine was fairly large-ish I suppose, and it would be a pain to use in the auditorium seats or those stupid high school desks that made up most of my classrooms. Those few I had with genuine tables would have worked better I guess.

Battery life of course is an issue, as getting access to an outlet may not always be possible.

Essentially I'd say do a recon of the classroom and decide for yourself. If it looks like trying to set up a laptop in your seating area is more trouble than it's worth, then you're probably better off with pen and paper. On the other hand if it's reasonably roomy, you can get to an outlet and/or your battery will last you an hour or so, then go for it.

I don't know of any universities that might require you to have one, but I suppose you could find out for yourself faily easily.

Jah, all that makes sense, but I was hoping to get the combo computer/backpack bag ahead of time if possible.... Ah well, maybe I'll just get the moderately-priced zip-up case thingy and that'll work with whatever bag I end up using. *salutes*

[General Zod]

Jah, all that makes sense, but I was hoping to get the combo computer/backpack bag ahead of time if possible.... Ah well, maybe I'll just get the moderately-priced zip-up case thingy and that'll work with whatever bag I end up using. *salutes*

You might want to look into Targus or Swiss Army backpacks. They're generally fairly sturdy and won't cost you too much in the way of an arm and a leg. I've got a Targus one myself and it only ran me about $80 or so. Manages to do the job fairly well with enough padding to keep my laptop safe.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I don't really use laptops for classes, since in general, my classes are largely math and stuff written on the board and I have no intention of typing in LaTeX the whole bloody lot. Writing on paper is so much faster.

That said, they are probably more useful for other classes with not so much math... especially if the professor has lecture notes online.

[Zaia]

You might want to look into Targus or Swiss Army backpacks. They're generally fairly sturdy and won't cost you too much in the way of an arm and a leg. I've got a Targus one myself and it only ran me about $80 or so. Manages to do the job fairly well with enough padding to keep my laptop safe.

I have a Swiss Army one already, actually. I'll have to give it a test run with my computer (to see if it can close with it in there, might be too small), and see if it can store any books in there as well. I don't think it'll be big enough, but it's a pretty amazing bag, so it might surprise me.

[General Zod]

You might want to look into Targus or Swiss Army backpacks. They're generally fairly sturdy and won't cost you too much in the way of an arm and a leg. I've got a Targus one myself and it only ran me about $80 or so. Manages to do the job fairly well with enough padding to keep my laptop safe.

I have a Swiss Army one already, actually. I'll have to give it a test run with my computer (to see if it can close with it in there, might be too small), and see if it can store any books in there as well. I don't think it'll be big enough, but it's a pretty amazing bag, so it might surprise me.

Size is the main thing that kept me from getting a Swiss Army one. They're sturdy but just don't have much in the way of actual room. The Targus has plenty of space though.

[Stark]

Wait, Surl finds the distraction of GAMES and INTERNET impossible to resist DURING LECTURES? Fucking christ.

[Pick]

No. I even type faster than I can write by hand, and it's not worth it.

I have a laptop, but kept it at home over Winter break. I just didn't use the thing. I rely on my desktop for everything.

[RogueIce]

You are dead to me now.

YES! Mission accomplished.

For me, it was simply easier to use a notebook and pen/pencil than try to set up my laptop. Then again mine was fairly large-ish I suppose, and it would be a pain to use in the auditorium seats or those stupid high school desks that made up most of my classrooms. Those few I had with genuine tables would have worked better I guess.

Battery life of course is an issue, as getting access to an outlet may not always be possible.

Essentially I'd say do a recon of the classroom and decide for yourself. If it looks like trying to set up a laptop in your seating area is more trouble than it's worth, then you're probably better off with pen and paper. On the other hand if it's reasonably roomy, you can get to an outlet and/or your battery will last you an hour or so, then go for it.

I don't know of any universities that might require you to have one, but I suppose you could find out for yourself faily easily.

Jah, all that makes sense, but I was hoping to get the combo computer/backpack bag ahead of time if possible.... Ah well, maybe I'll just get the moderately-priced zip-up case thingy and that'll work with whatever bag I end up using. *salutes*

Stupid thing, I lost my entire reply!

Oh well, in summary:

I find your trickery incredibly hot. So you're screwed again.

Your plan for the case + bag is basically what I used and it worked out fine. Make sure the case is sturdy enough that you can place your bag on top of it to save storage space while seated.

[Admiral Drason]

I never bring my laptop to class as I generally will just log on to SDnet or other forums. If I have a long day I'll bring my laptop so I can do a little gaming in the library.

If anything my laptop distracts me far more than it helps me. The only exception is when I work in groups and have to do research or make a power point. As I seem to be the only computer literat person in my Uni.

[Durandal]

Fuck laptops. If I was in college now, I'd bring my iPhone.

Yes, I'm an Apple whore.

[Lord Revan]

yes I take a laptop to class as it's one of the few ways I can make notes on what's said fast enough (and without overstressing my wrist).

[Bounty]

My laptop has a six-minute battery life and sounds like a plane taking off (and that's on a good day) so no, I never take it with me. I'd say that on average, there are never more than a handful of laptops even in a full 200-person auditorium and most of those are for people with disabilities (text magnification and touch-typing for the visually impaired, mostly).

Pen and paper are infinitely more useful for notes, since you can play with your page layout, add sketches, connect different bits of information to show their relation and easily add stuff to earlier sections. Once you factor in symbols and non-standard writing systems, laptops become ridiculously limited for notes.

I might consider a tablet PC with a stylus to draw images, but that really seems like overkill when you can just scan in your notes at home. I wouldn't trade my recycled paper and fountain pen for an overpriced piece of electronics that's just begging to get stolen.

[Mr. T]

I wouldn't bring my laptop to class. Lecture halls can get realy cramped and theirs not always adequate space to put your laptop on the little pull out note taking table at your chair. You'll spend alot of time worrying about all the banging and clanking your laptop went through to get to your seat too. Theirs also the hastle of laptops being more limiting; if the Professor decides to draw a diagram your going to have a much harder time drawing a diagram on your laptop then if you just bring a pen and paper.

Out of my classes I'd say only about 10-15% of kids bring their laptops to class so no one will think your old fashioned if you just bring a pen and paper.

[Specialist]

I bought a swiss napsack to carry my macbook last year. It works wonderfully not too much load and I minimize the amount of books I bring to school. I bought one of those slim case from the apple store to keep the computer in.

I was doing my thesis at the time so I had to do a lot of work throughout the day. I would randomly work on fragments when I have time. Unfortunately I only manage to use it during liberal classes. For my math and computer science classes it was hard to copy notes since since you know... all those formulas (there were a few latex pros though). Actually it was good for studying though for classes that posted the note online which were most of mines.

[Howedar]

Regarding the apparent deal-breaker of diagrams:

Come on folks, it's not like you're not allowed to have a pen and paper with you even if you brought your laptop. If the diagram is such a big fucking deal, draw it and scan/photograph it later. Or don't, and keep it on paper forever.

I don't do the laptop thing constantly, but diagrams aren't the primary reason.

[Stormbringer]

I went to a school where it was virtually expected for certain classes that you'd bring a laptop to classes for note taking purposes. The lecture slides were posted online and you almost always needed them to follow along.

Even if it wasn't necessary, I always rather liked having a laptop available for note taking. I can type much faster, more legibly, and more clearly than I do hand writing; I learned to type at an early age. After class I would make a quick clean up edit to them and then print them out to go in a neatly managed binder of notes (for open note tests and as an extra copy).

That system worked well enough for me and it's what a lot of use did.

[Phantasee]

You need a laptop at school. You don't need a laptop for class.

Even classes that have the notes online, everyone just printed those off and added to them with a pen.

The laptop is useful between classes, so you don't have to go to the computer labs and possibly wait for a free one. Cambridge probably has wireless over most of campus(heh, Cambridge).

Very rarely do people use laptops for note taking. It's mostly for other stuff, just because so much stuff is online.

Almost everyone I know just uses a soft cover like a thick pillow case type of bag with a draw string to those padded little zip up bags, and just stuck them in their back packs.

I don't know how you're gong to handle carrying it all in a messenger bag, my shoulders killed me when I had to swap for one. A proper backpack will be very valuable, even if that value is saved chiropractic fees.

[Surlethe]

It's not an improvement at all over pen and paper.

Well, I don't know. I can type wicked-fast, don't game and would probably be able to watch what was going on better if I was typing, but it's a bit noisy and possibly distracting for everyone.

I can type faster than I write, but I prefer writing because it leaves available formatting that's inconvenient and time-wasting on a computer. For some reason, written words stick in my head better, too.

However, that wasn't really the bit that had me concerned--I thought it might be possible that schools were making it mandatory to bring laptops to class. If some local middle school could do it, then it seemed at least reasonably likely that universities might have adopted the same regulation.

Facebook and internet use are a big problem in class already; I don't see my university making in-class laptop use mandatory at all. To be frank, I think giving middle school students that sort of freedom during class is at best unwise, and at worst downright harmful to classroom education.

I'm doing my degree in education, so I'm not sure how useful or not it would be to take my notes directly onto my computer or not, but I was really just trying to gauge whether or not the computer note-taking was a widespread thing.

At my university, in the classes I've taken, computer note-taking is not widespread at all, and when it goes on it goes on in tandem with internet use.

[Surlethe]

Wait, Surl finds the distraction of GAMES and INTERNET impossible to resist DURING LECTURES? Fucking christ.

It's difficult, which is why I don't turn my laptop on during lectures; and if my observation of other students using laptops in class is representative, then I'm not alone in this. It's not like I'm unable to admit my weaknesses and then try to correct them.

[Norseman]

I always brought my laptop to class, I found that trying to write by hand was pretty useless. In fact the only time I write anything by hand is if I need to draw diagrams, and even there the right program can work wonders.

Truth is that every single person in my class used a laptop, and I'd feel naked without one. You'd be better off without BOOKS than without a laptop, IMHO, since a laptop lets you access the web.

[Zaia]

Thanks, guys, you've been very helpful. And it just so happens that my Swiss Army bag does have room for my laptop in it and maybe a handful of books. I'll probably just get a slim protective case and skip the ultra-expensive computer-backpack so that I have the option of taking my computer to class but don't spend too much money on things to allow me to do that. Thank you again.

[Steel]

The laptop is useful between classes, so you don't have to go to the computer labs and possibly wait for a free one. Cambridge probably has wireless over most of campus(heh, Cambridge).

Not in the actual (original) cambridge. I think theres wireless everywhere in MIT and in the other cambridge, but over here there isnt wireless in most places.