suggested MS applications for taking notes in lecture

[catamount27]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me names of good note-taking or outlining applications for Windows XP. When sitting in on a class during a campus tour, I realized that a large percentage of the class was taking notes on laptops. That was definately not the norm at my undergraduate school (graduated in 2002 so that may be the reason).

The idea of notetaking on my laptop is appealing, however I feel more comfortable with a paper notebook and pen.

[wildcataz2004]

Most people just use Word; a few are using OneNote

[lipper]

yeah, i only know of a couple people who use OneNote. Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of students, including myself just use Word.

[desmo]

I used Outliner 4.0 from Storelaw.  The note-taking aspect is probably on par with anything else, but generating my outline was very easy and quick.  Storelaw has templates for most books, which made organization easy.

[ct_rdr]

I'm a huge fan of OneNote. I can't say enough good things about it, and the minor things I don't care or are all being changed in the updated version out in the spring. The organization and ease of formatting can't be beat. And, you never have to worry about saving (or forgetting to) it constantly saves everything you write, and it automatically backs itself up. I could go on and on about it.

[Jumboshrimps]

Use a pen and paper. This accomplishes four things: 1) You don't write as much down during class. If you are writing all the time, you are not thinking enough. Period. Law school is done in your head, not on paper. 2) It forces you to revisit the material when you compile it into an outline EACH WEEK (now you can use the computer). 3) You won't screw around with IM'ing, surfing, etc. These are a huge distraction. And 4) You can't draw stuff easily on a computer. Law is conceptual and abstract. You'll want to draw arrows and pictures. Somebody will say, "yeah, but there's this great program that lets you draw on your laptop screen!" Yeah. And I generally use a snowplow to defrost my freezer.

The pen is your friend.

[racheles05]

The pen is your friend.

I think you should use what works best for your class, but I agree that pen and paper has advantages in some contexts. My Civ Pro prof was very straight-forward. He lectured straight bll. I liked using my laptop for that class because I can type much faster than I write, and his lectures were literally packed with information that was relevant to the exam. Also, Civ Pro isn't really an abstract, conceptual course.

On the other hand, I used paper notes for Property because future interests were much easier to draw and the prof used the pure Socratic method so lengthy notes weren't necessary.

As for One Note, I have a friend who swears by it. She says it's a lot more fun than using Word. I'm very proficient with Word, have a ton of macros set up and prefer to use that.

[d'Anconia]

I vote pen and pad. And, the ol'skool legal pad baby!

Anybody had success with those d**mn tablet pcs? Wouldn't they kinda be the best of both worlds (if one could afford one, of course)?