How To ACTUALLY Take A+ Notes on Laptop (99% Do It WRONG ❌)
Summary
TLDRThis video addresses the debate between using laptops and tablets for note-taking, particularly in a medical school context. It reveals that while 99% of students use laptops, there's a lack of discussion on laptop note-taking. The script reviews various studies comparing laptop note-taking with handwriting, suggesting that laptops are better for fast-paced, information-heavy environments. The presenter shares personal experiences with different note-taking apps, highlighting OneNote as the most effective for medical students due to its organization, accessibility, and features. The video also covers effective note-taking strategies, the importance of active recall, and using past exam papers for high-yield revision.
Takeaways
- 📊 A 2021 survey revealed that only 25% of students own a tablet, with 99% using laptops as their primary learning tool.
- 📝 The debate between laptop note-taking and handwriting suggests that while handwriting may be better for visual learning, laptops are ideal for fast-paced, information-heavy environments.
- 💡 The effectiveness of note-taking varies by individual and subject, with post-note-taking study habits being crucial for learning retention.
- 🖥 The presenter recommends OneNote for its free access, cross-device synchronization, offline editing, and robust note-taking features.
- 📱 OneNote's mobile app allows for note access on smartphones, making it convenient for on-the-go studying.
- 🔍 OneNote's search function is highlighted as a powerful tool for quickly finding information across notes.
- 🔗 OneNote's linking system enables easy navigation between related notes, aiding in comprehensive studying.
- 📚 Active recall strategies, such as using Anki flashcards or mind mapping, are emphasized for effective revision.
- 👨🏫 The Feynman technique, where one teaches a topic to others, is suggested for identifying knowledge gaps and reinforcing memory.
- 📑 Utilizing past exam papers for year-round study helps in focusing on high-yield topics and understanding exam patterns.
Q & A
What was the main focus of the 2021 survey mentioned in the transcript?
-The main focus of the 2021 survey was to understand the prevalence of tablet ownership and usage among students, as well as to determine if owning a tablet, like an iPad, is significantly advantageous over using a laptop for learning.
According to the survey, what percentage of students own a tablet?
-Only one quarter of the students surveyed reported owning a tablet.
What did the majority of respondents in the survey consider as their main learning tool?
-99% of respondents in the survey indicated that their laptop is their main learning tool.
What does the research suggest about note-taking on paper versus using a laptop?
-Research suggests that handwriting notes on paper is generally more effective for visual learning and better encoding, leading to a deeper processing of information. However, laptops may be more suitable for fast-paced environments where a large amount of information needs to be captured quickly.
What is the speaker's opinion on the importance of how you study your notes after taking them?
-The speaker emphasizes that the method of note-taking (laptop, tablet, or handwriting) is less important than how you study and revise your notes afterwards, as the effectiveness of note-taking varies from person to person and subject to subject.
What note-taking app does the speaker recommend for medical school students?
-The speaker recommends OneNote for medical school students due to its free availability, great structure for organizing notes, synchronization across devices, offline editing capabilities, and various note-taking features.
Why did the speaker switch from Google Docs to OneNote for note-taking?
-The speaker switched from Google Docs to OneNote because Google Docs was difficult for searching specific notes and not very user-friendly for editing and adding photos, while OneNote provided a more organized and feature-rich environment for note-taking.
What are some effective note-taking strategies mentioned in the transcript?
-Some effective note-taking strategies mentioned include mind mapping, matrix note-taking, charting method, and the Cornell method. The key is not to copy and paste notes, as this does not engage the brain and is ineffective for learning.
How does the speaker suggest preparing for lectures to enhance note-taking?
-The speaker suggests downloading lecture slides as a PDF and annotating them before the lecture to prime the brain on the lecture subject, which can help in creating more effective notes during the lecture.
What are some features of OneNote that the speaker finds helpful for note-taking?
-The speaker finds OneNote's features such as creating templates, accessibility on mobile devices with offline editing, the ability to capture notes through photos and screenshots, a searchable database, and a linking system to be particularly helpful for note-taking.
What is the speaker's approach to revising notes and preparing for exams?
-The speaker's approach to revising notes involves active recall techniques such as using Anki decks, creating mind maps, explaining topics to friends (Feynman technique), and using past exam papers to identify high-yield topics.
Outlines
💻 Laptops vs. Tablets for Note-Taking
The paragraph discusses the prevalence of laptop use among students compared to tablets, highlighting that despite the hype around iPads, laptops remain the primary learning tool for the majority. The speaker intends to share their method of taking notes on a laptop in a medical school setting, focusing on the choice of note-taking apps and strategies for effective note utilization. It addresses the debate on note-taking methods, with studies suggesting that handwriting notes on paper is superior for visual learning and information encoding. However, for fast-paced learning environments, laptops are more suitable for capturing information quickly. The speaker emphasizes that the method of note-taking is less critical than the approach to studying and revising notes afterward.
📚 Choosing the Right Note-Taking App
This section delves into the speaker's personal journey of selecting a note-taking app during their medical school years. Initially, they used Google Docs but found it challenging for specific note retrieval and photo integration. They then tried iote but found it too complex. Eventually, they settled on OneNote, which was popular among peers, free, and offered a structured organization system, cross-device synchronization, offline editing, and a variety of note-taking features. The speaker also briefly discusses Notion, suggesting it's more suited for project management rather than student note-taking due to its rigid, task-based structure that doesn't encourage nonlinear thinking.
📝 Strategies for Effective Note-Taking
The paragraph outlines strategies for creating effective notes on a laptop. It starts with preparation, such as having lecture slides ready in a PDF format for easy attachment or annotation within OneNote. The speaker then discusses three note-taking methods: objective-based notes, which are concise bullet points with images and videos; the Matrix method, which uses tables for comparing and contrasting information; and mind mapping, which can be created with tools like Lucid Spark or by hand and then digitized. The speaker also shares useful OneNote features like creating templates, accessing notes on mobile devices, capturing notes through photos or screenshots, and leveraging OneNote's searchable database and linking system for efficient note organization and retrieval.
📈 Active Recall and Exam Preparation
The final paragraph focuses on the importance of active recall and effective revision strategies for exam preparation. The speaker mentions using Anki decks, although they personally prefer pre-made decks like 'Zanki' to save time. They also advocate for using mind maps for active recall under exam conditions to test and consolidate knowledge. The 'Feynman Technique' is introduced as a method of explaining concepts in simple terms to strengthen understanding and memory. The speaker also recommends using past exam papers throughout the year to identify high-yield topics and improve exam performance. The paragraph concludes with a teaser for a future video that will delve deeper into exam revision strategies.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Laptop
💡Note-taking
💡OneNote
💡Active Recall
💡Mind Mapping
💡Anki
💡Spaced Repetition
💡Matrix Note-Taking
💡Objective-Based Notes
💡Cornell Method
💡Revision
Highlights
In a 2021 survey, only one quarter of students own a tablet, with laptops remaining the main learning tool.
Studies suggest handwriting notes is better for visual learning and encoding information.
Laptops are found to be more suitable for fast-paced learning environments where quick information capture is needed.
The effectiveness of note-taking varies from person to person and is not solely dependent on the tool used.
Efficient note revision is crucial for academic success, regardless of the note-taking method.
OneNote is recommended as a free and structured note-taking app for medical students, syncing across devices.
Notion is not recommended for medical note-taking due to its rigidity and task-based nature.
Effective note-taking strategies include mind mapping, matrix, charting, and the Cornell method.
Copy-pasting notes is discouraged as it requires no cognitive effort and does not aid in learning.
Preparation before lectures by downloading and annotating slides can enhance note-taking.
Creating concise, objective-based notes with images and videos is an effective method for medical students.
Matrix note-taking method organizes complex information logically, beneficial for subjects like history and medicine.
Mind maps can be created without a tablet using free online tools like Lucidchart and integrated into notes.
OneNote features like templates, mobile access, and note capturing enhance the note-taking experience.
OneNote's searchability and linking system make it easier to find and connect information across notes.
Active recall through tools like Anki or mind maps under exam conditions strengthens knowledge retention.
The Feynman technique of explaining topics in simple terms to others is an effective method for self-assessment.
Utilizing past exam papers throughout the year helps identify high-yield topics and improves exam performance.
Transcripts
if you're someone who doesn't own a
fancy iPad and you've only got one of
those good old laptops are you missing
out big time in a 2021 survey out of a
thousand students actually only one
quarter of people said that they own a
tablet and 99% of respondents said that
their laptop is their main learning tool
even with 99% of us still using laptops
it's crazy that I cannot find anyone
talking about taking notes on laptops
everyone's just raving about their
newest iPads so in this video I'm going
to show you guys a really easy way of
how I take notes in medical Skool on my
laptop which note taking app to use and
how you actually make use of your notes
later on in the year to get that A+ that
you want but first let's address the
elephant in the room I know you guys are
itching to hear this but it might not be
what you think it is there are many
studies out there that have specifically
look at note taking on the laptop versus
handwriting on paper based on the
studies it does suggests that
handwriting notes has the upper hand in
visual learning and better encoding
these students end up having a deeper
processing of the information they've
just learned because they have to
rewrite things in their own words these
findings are specific to writing on a
paper and not writing on a tablet but
what about laptops interestingly they
found that laptops may be more suitable
for fast-paced environments where a
large amount of information needs to be
captured quickly and efficiently what
does this mean for you and which one is
better well it turns out the results are
pretty inconclusive and it varies from
person to person subject to subject it's
actually what you do after words that
matters the most both laptop and tablet
or even handwriting are all just as bad
if you don't know how to study your
notes afterwards I'm going to show you
how you can revise your notes on your
laptop efficiently at the very end of
the video so make sure you don't miss it
now let's get to writing your laptop
notes first let's choose the right
application for you I remember during my
premid year like choosing the write note
taking app is just the vein of my
existence I swear like everyone was
using a different note taking app in the
lecture theater I'd look to my left and
someone's using Google Docs and to my
right someone's using iote so at first I
went with Google Docs and Google dry for
the first year in my Premier year but
the downside was that it was pretty hard
to look up for notes when I specifically
needed something and it was not very
easy to edit things and add photos very
easily so then I tried iote and to be
very honest I don't think I gave iote
like a fair chance to really test it out
because I just remember first impression
of Ian note too complicated too hard and
I gave up pretty quickly then I found
one note and I swear 3/4s of my class in
mid School were using this one note app
and it was perfect for me for many many
reasons but one of them is because it's
free and it has a really great structure
for organizing medical notes and it
sinks across lots of different devices
your phones your tablets your laptops
and it's even available offline to edit
and last of all it has lots and lots of
different note taking features that is
absolutely life- changing to note taking
which I'll show you a little later you
might be think thinking oh Unice what
about notion well back in my days notion
really wasn't that popular yet and I
have to be very honest that I've never
used notion for medicine I have used it
for YouTube production and I think that
it's a very useful tool in that regard
but I wouldn't use it for Mid school
notes this is what Justin song who is a
study coach he sums it up pretty well
for study overrated if the rating is
here if this is over it is here I think
notion is not designed for studying I
feel that notion is not a note taking
app
but it strength is in project management
in a team setting where there are lots
of tasks that you do need to track and
things like that but for not taking for
students I think notion is a bit too
rigid it's too task based and it doesn't
really encourage nonlinear thinking if
you've enjoyed this video so far make
sure you hit that thumbs up button and
let me know has anyone at school
actually taught you how to write a
really good set of notes I remember back
in high school in my biology class my
teacher would say class the mitochondria
is the PowerHouse of the the cell and
literally I would write in my notes the
mitochondria is the PowerHouse of the
cell but the problem of this is that
you're not actually challenging your
brain to understand or make use of this
new information that's coming into your
brain and it turns out that there are
tons of more effective note taking
strategies out there mind mapping Matrix
not taking charting method Cornell
method and you know what it really
doesn't matter which one you pick as
long as you're not copy and pasting your
notes because then you might as well not
make any notes cuz it's a complete waste
of your time so instead my biology notes
could to look like this or this the
thing with copy and pasting is that it
really does not require any brain power
so zero cognitive loading and it simply
does not fit in any levels of learning I
know it can be super tempting really
easy to just copy and paste when you're
taking notes on your laptop cuz I know
I've been there before but if you find
that note taking is really easy for you
then honey you are doing it wrong cuz
it's not going to stick in here now
there are three parts to writing really
good notes the first part is preparation
and this is in regards to lecture slides
I usually have my lecture slides
downloaded as a PDF folder that I can
later attached to my one note on the
subject or I can have it inserted as a
print out into one note and it's this
function here then later on with the
print out you can then annotate on the
slides as you go which is pretty handy
and I usually do this a day before the
lecture so then I can prime my brain on
the lecture subject I mean ideally it
would be great if I could make a full
set of notes during the lecture but it
is virtually next to impossible to try
and do that in a mid School lecture I
just remember getting absolutely shooked
when my Anan lecture was like hey by the
way this one lecture is 10 lectures
compiled good luck guys so if you feel
like there's too much information in
your lecture then you might as well try
to understand what the heck is going on
rather than focus on getting everything
down on paper or on your laptop now that
we're finished with Ting the slides
you're not done yet we're going to
create our own set of notes from the
lectures during this time I focus on
distilling the most important of
information or summary of the topic into
one or two pages on what we've just
learned you might be asking why can't I
just study from the annota lecture
slides you know good question but here
are two reasons why I think it's not a
good idea number one each time that
you're going through the process of
creating your own notes you're engaging
with the material actively and making
your revision for later a whole lot
easier and number two imagine going
through a 100 L slides to find that one
piece of information that you need to
study what a night me right so here are
a few examples of how I create effective
notes on my laptop the first one is
objective based notes so this is just
summarizing the notes into bullet points
and really summarized version keeping it
really brief just the essence of it and
I include lots of images any videos that
can explain better than words do the
second method is the Matrix note taking
method which is one of my absolute
favorites for medicine this is using a
grid or a table to compare and contrast
the information that you have learned
the benefit of this is that you're able
to organize a complex set of information
in a really logical way and it's
especially helpful for subjects like
history or medicine which are things
that you can compare and contrast a lot
of the time the third method is my
mapping listen you don't need a tablet
with a stylist pen to be able to create
my maps I mean obviously great if you
can but not everyone's going to be able
to afford a tablet or an iPad so I got
you you can use free online tools like
Lucid spark to create your mind maps
online and then you capture it and pop
it into your notes later on for me in my
first year of medle school I actually
used to do them by hand on an A4 piece
of paper and then later on I scan and
Chuck them onto my one note but come to
the end of my medical school career and
my last year of uni I got myself a a
surface go and I would use it to draw my
maps but even then it still never
replaced my laptop notes now here are
some really cool one note features that
you should save for later on and it will
make your note taking so much easier
first one is creating templates for
different types of notes so for Matrix
note taking I actually use this heaps
and heaps in my mp notes and I use this
a lot because this is the most
appropriate like the one that makes
sense for me in clinical medicine so I
have this save as a default template in
my mCP notebook and I'll show you how to
do this what you do is you create a page
and the template that you ideally want
your notes to look like then next you go
onto notebooks pages and then you click
set as default template voila it's that
easy the second feature that's really
impressive for one note is that you can
access notes anywhere you know those
times that you turn up at a tutorial or
a lecture and you've forgotten your
laptop you're like oh my God but you're
good actually if you have a smartphone
you're good to go because the one note
mobile app is really really good and you
can access it offline as well as long as
you go into an internet it will sync to
your laptop later on third one is that
you can capture notes on Theo so picture
yourself coming across a textbook with
really amazing diagram that you just
can't get a pdf version of what you can
do is that you can grab your phone and
quickly capture the photo and then check
it onto your one note mobile app and
later on it'll sink to your laptop or if
you're watching a YouTube video
and you find a frame where it describes
things amazingly you just want a
screenshot of it what you can do is just
grab screen clippings and it will get
inserted straight into your notes no
hassle feature number four is that one
note has a very searchable database you
literally can just go contrl F Type the
keyword you're after and boom all the
lecture all your notes that you've
written in the past I don't know four or
5 years shows up it's essential if you
have a really long degree like medicine
feature number five is the linking
system the neat thing about one note is
that you can link one note to another
note that you want yourself to look at
when you're looking at this note and a
practical example is that I actually
have a master page for most of my
subjects and this is where I bring all
the relevant ideas of that subject
together in one page and then I link it
out to relevant notes for more
information if I need to I talk in depth
of how I structure and organize my one
note in this video here so if you're not
used to one note make sure you check out
this video now the third part is
actually making use of your notes which
is r ision which I find is the most
important step to getting those good
grades revision is where you start to
use active Reco which basically is just
testing yourself what you already know
the most popular way of using active
freal is actually using anky dicks a lot
of my colleagues in mid school they like
to copy their notes on one note and then
paste it as questions into anky and that
became their study deck I have to admit
that I don't make my own anky decks
because I think they are such a Time
Sinker I did try sticking to anky for
maybe one week that entire of my six
year Medical School degree I tried
really hard to stick to it but I find it
really hard to keep up so I absolutely
just fell off the wagon and instead I
went online and searched for yanky decks
for Mid school and I found this deck
called zanki which at the time was free
but I think now days you have to pay a
small fee for it so even if you have to
pay a small fee for it you know if money
can buy you back time I 100% would
recommend I also really like to use my
maps as a form of active recall and I
like to do it under exam conditions I'm
not peing over my notes so this is a
really good way to test the knowledge
that you already learned and it's a good
way to see different connections between
the topics and ideas that you've learned
already bringing it all together in one
place and this is also known as the hian
theory where the neurons that are wired
together eventually start to fire
together so it strengthens your
knowledge even more in that subject if
you have a friend who's doing the same
course as you or anyone who would listen
to you that's good enough try explaining
to them a topic or a subject in really
simple terms or this is also known as
Fame and technique I use this technique
almost every night leading up to exams
and tests at medical school with my
friend and it works superbly it's just a
really good way to see what areas you're
weak in and it's also kind of
embarrassing when you if up in front of
your friends and you forget stuff so
then that sticks with you even better in
your memory for later on in the exam I
also use past exam papers throughout the
year this is like high yield golden
stuff and I don't leave it last minute
just before the exam this is because it
gives you a better gauge of what you
actually need to focus on to do better
in exams studying exams is all about
finding those High you topics the common
things that come at exams you know it's
all about playing the game right if you
want to learn how to get a pluses in all
of your tests then you need to learn the
right way to revise your exams in this
next video
here
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