Am I the only one thinking about not using my laptop for notes?

[hylas99]

I mean, is it really necessary? I got through undergrad and a doctoral program with pen and paper, and I know thousands of law students managed before laptops hit the scene. I have no doubt that there are advantages to having one's notes in Word, but I wonder if it is really worth lugging the computer to school. Just curious as to what others think.
Am the only one considering the low tech route?

I will be starting law school in August.

[Neub]

I don't doubt that I will use a laptop, but I hear what you are saying.  I am actually much more proficient at taking notes the old fashion way than with a computer. I've tried both and my typed notes don't seem to make nearly half as much sense.  With that said, I suppose with a little practice taking notes on a laptop will become a lot easier.

So I'd say do what works best for you. Perhaps taking hand written notes in class and then transfering them into Word later for easy storage as well as review might work well.

[eloisa]

I'm seriously considering it.  I'm a journalist, so I'm quite used to taking notes by hand.  I think taking notes by hand requires you to decide what's important -- because you can't write as quickly as you can type.  If typing notes, it's easier to get caught up in trying to transcribe rather than summarize.  I've found this out  taking notes on my computer at work while doing phone interviews.  My handwritten notes are shorter, but more coherent; I don't have to sift through them to find important information.

I've pretty much decided that I'm going to take notes by hand in class and then transfer them into Word...  I think that will work better for me.

Maybe that makes us the black sheep among soon-to-be 1Ls.

[Lgirl]

I'm definitely taking notes by hand!

[AllisonAzee]

Yeah I have a laptop, but I've always taken notes by hand and don't know how easy it'd be to start taking them on my laptop.  Besides the fact that surfing the net during class would be far too tempting and I don't really want to lug my laptop to school everyday, but we'll have to see.  I hand write them and then go home and type an outline nicely on my computer, sort of as forced refresher.  I'm kind of bad in the fact I almost never look at my notes, I really only take them so that my mind doesn't wander during class and I remember the material a lot better if I do.

[Javert]

For some people, written notes might make more sense simply because that's the format they're used to. I couldn't do it, but I understand that some people have different needs than me.

However, I find the comments about 'lugging' the laptop to school odd. An inexpensive laptop can come with plenty of power and weigh less than five pounds, whereas a notebook, folder, and writing utensils nets maybe a pound. Maybe I'm just used to it, but is a net gain of four pounds really that burdensome? 

[AllisonAzee]

Well it's more the laptop, plus the notebook pluse the books.  I mean I'm guessing I'll still need some sort of notebook to write with and my laptop must be a good 7 pounds or so.   
It's more the combination of all that worries me.

[Jumboshrimps]

I'll be taking notes by hand, largely because I type about 15 words a minute with mistakes. Also, I draw diagrams and pictures in my notes. Come to think of it, that's about ALL I write. I'll be using this new Dell Inspiron 600m to outline and word process, though. I'll also be learning to type faster, since I intend to type my exams.

[twarga]

I type at least 75 words per minute (secretarial experience), and I'm awkwardly left-handed, which makes bringing my laptop a no-brainer for me.  I get nasty hand cramps from writing too much and then I can't read my own writing anyway.  I used to take audio dictation (lawyer would talk into the dictaphone and I'd type it out later at my desk), so I can keep up with a lecturer pretty well.  From what I've seen at the schools I've visited, just about everyone has a laptop with them.

[A.J]

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