Do You Really Need a Laptop to Take Notes in Class?

[john jacob]

I'm happy with my current computer, although I'm considering buying a new laptop.

Do you really need a laptop to take notes in class? Or can you get by using the old-fashioned pen+paper?

[just dot]

Check with your school.  Most (I think) require them.  You use them not only to take notes, but to access information online.  I'm pretty sure a laptop is a must for law school.  I haven't heard of anyone in the past few years who didn't use one.

[john jacob]

Check with your school.  Most (I think) require them.  You use them not only to take notes, but to access information online.  I'm pretty sure a laptop is a must for law school.  I haven't heard of anyone in the past few years who didn't use one.

Some schools are banning laptops in classrooms.

[hollowman988]

Check with your school.  Most (I think) require them.  You use them not only to take notes, but to access information online.  I'm pretty sure a laptop is a must for law school.  I haven't heard of anyone in the past few years who didn't use one.

Some schools are banning laptops in classrooms.

Which schools are these? Certainly some professors have started banning laptops at Michigan, but I haven't heard of any schools banning them outright.

[just dot]

Ok, let me be more specific:  All of the schools that I applied to (and therefore researched) require laptops.  That's all I know for sure.

[john jacob]

because this isn't programming class or an engineering CAD class.

Lawyers in the past functioned just fine without laptops, so I'm trying to see if laptops enhance note-taking in law school in any way.

Of course they're great on exams, and for accessing law databases such as lexis-nexis, but for regular class note-taking, their effectiveness is...not so great, as is seen by professors who decide to ban them.

[rtqw]

Absolutely you can use pen and paper, if you wish.

I haven't heard of anyone in the past few years who didn't use one.

At least in my classes, there are plenty of people who choose not to use laptops for note-taking.

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

because this isn't programming class or an engineering CAD class.

Lawyers in the past functioned just fine without laptops, so I'm trying to see if laptops enhance note-taking in law school in any way.

Of course they're great on exams, and for accessing law databases such as lexis-nexis, but for regular class note-taking, their effectiveness is...not so great, as is seen by professors who decide to ban them.

Profs ban them bc their egos are hurt by kids who don't pay attention to them for the whole 80 mins of the class. 

Personally, I type faster than I write...when I hand write notes, I miss a lot of things (and no, I'm not the type of person who needs to type EVERYTHING the prof says).

[BikePilot]

I personally suck at handwriting and find a laptop very useful. Lots of my classmates find writing the old fashioned way works best for them and laptops weren't allowed in most of my classes anyway making it a moot point (and making my fingers sore and notes nearly useless).

[Pearl]

Sometimes the professor goes off on really boring tangents, and having my laptop in class helps me to multitask and catch up on email during these times.

only sort of kidding... actually not really kidding at all