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Anyone who has successfully made extensive handwritten notes on tab/ipad ?

I am looking for someone who has completely or nearly replaced a physical notebook and made notes on tablet either pencil.

Anyone here who has done that?


What software did you use? What are the pros and cons?

AzadHindFauz,HDand6 otherslike this
37.2k views

49 comments


Doing it this time on Samsung Notes.

Pros- 

1. "Find" feature enables me to search content even written in my own handwriting. The AI is super on this. 

2. Typing content on Evernote/OneNote had limitations. You could not draw flow charts, diagrams, put images from the internet to your notes with ease etc. Basically, making notes now on tablet is akin to physical note-making which involves me actively with the topic I'm taking notes of + the added features of digital notes (searchability to add content in relevant topics as and when issues appear)

3. Easy to revise- Revising with a pen and using the highlight feature gives the feel of 'pen-paper' format which is the still the best way to do things for better retention. Revision on Evernote/OneNote was a tough job because it involved passive reading of things on a screen!


4. Multi-window functionality: Makes it easy to switch between windows on the go. If I'm stuck, I can take pictures from YouTube videos, write on them, refer Wikipedia seamlessly. I used to do this with Evernote too but it it took a lot of time. The main reason why I chose to go for Tablet because I had exhausted all the features of Evernote and wanted to do more with my notes.



Cons- 

1. You totally give up pen and paper for good which is not a good thing as we need to be in writing practice for Mains.

No other cons.



Tablet note-taking is the next succession step in the digital evolution!







Neyawn,GaryVeeand10 otherslike this
19.4k views

Same. Samsung notes. 

I can remove already known / redundant/ learnt facts and ideas thereby reducing the revision time considerably

Moreover pasting pyqs in books or writing easily on the margins, this helps in PYQs where space is limited on physical paper

The only downside is that paper has is its own charms. It's what all of us have used throughout our life to learn. I'm planning to take printouts of the revision PDFs a month before the exam. Which brings another downside- you can get lost in the endless PDFs and unconsolidated files. It's something that sucked out a lot of time when panic mode starts before the d day, in my last attempt

But I'm certainly in favour of a tablet and a stylus over physical books 

Ps. Hope the print out idea helps!

AzadHindFauz,
19.6k views

2021 se Sir paper-pen ko iPad se substitute kar diya hai to a major extent. 


I use Goodnotes application.


Pros ki  baat karu toh kaafi saare hai, for example;


  1. I can write and draw anything I want on pdfs with the help of stylus. (NCERTs pdf se padhne mei feel aa jaati hai, which I can’t describe aise xD)
  2. I can add photos of my already prepared notes(register vaale) to my digital notes.
  3. I can also click pictures or scan content from standard books and directly add to my digital notes.
  4. I can scan my copy/register handwritten notes, scan them and create pdf and then turn them into digital notes. Pdf create kar ke highlighter sab se marking ho jaati bade araaam se.
  5. Stationery ka paisa Bach raha in terms of registers, pen, highlighter pens etc etc.
  6. The device itself is very handy to hold. I need not have any table chair to study, tablet hath mei rakh ke I can study anywhere I want to. 
  7. I have done answer writing practice on the tablet itself rather than writing on physical answer booklet and then scanning it, creating pdf and sharing it to the evaluator. Goodnotes par answers likhe and then direct vahi se pdf bana ke share kar diya evaluator ko. This saves time.


Cons zyada  hai nahi but ek doe I would like to tell;


Firstly, the documents I have created are colourful because of different types of coloured pens and highlighters I have used. Agar inka printout Nikalna hoga toh agar B&W nikaaala toh it might kill the visual appeal. Coloured printout Nikalna can get costlier as koi functioning printer nahi hai mere paas at the moment.


Secondly, stationery  ka paisa toh Bach raha but stylus ka tip badi jaldii ghistaaa hai agar excessive use ho toh. And Apple Pencil ke tips bhi relatively mehengay aate (₹1900 ke 4 tips).


Thirdly, agar inbuilt storage kam ho device ka toh additional cloud storage Kareedna padd sakta hai to sync and back up your data. 


P.S. I would like to share apne polity PT365 ka pdf Jis ko dekh kar idea lag sakta about the pros I have tried to mention above. Iss shared pdf ke sath sath original pdf bhi dekhiyega to ascertain out the differences, tab better picture milegi.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-EtOGa_gAEQCMIfVnmcWSc85Numj-801/view?usp=sharing

Neyawn,GaryVeeand4 otherslike this
19.3k views

I have been working on Obsidian for other purposes. I have started my UPSC prep with this app since 2023.

It has all the features required to make a comprehensive notes- 

for eg,

1. Division in folders, files.

2. Calender to map progress.

3. We can embed YouTube videos, which is my favourite feature. You can embed playlists!

4. Embed pdfs, mp4 files, images.

5. You can make tags to find content easily. Like I have created tags from Syllabus itself.

6. Templates.

7. Excalidraw extension for graphs.

8. You can spilt the screen for long files.

9. Has tabs like google.

10. Ofcourse, allows to add links, and you can even link internal files.

Attaching a screenshot

Neyawn,AzadHindFauzand5 otherslike this
20k views

I started making notes by pen and ipad for optional as it needs integration of various graphs in one page .

And the goodnotes 5 comes really handy with this.

The best thing is it feels like writing in physical paper, the only thing is you dnt have to carry those notes ,a4 loose sheets anymore.


Making notes from tests , copying the maps ,reading pdf and highlighting them for future reference seems easy with good notes

Cons: 

But if u want to write or want to make tables ,it still feels good in evernote.

I was alwayz a paper - pen lover so to transit from that an holding a pen or stylus never gave me that grip. May be because of my obsession with PENS.

The other good writing app:

Notability

16.5k views

I personally did not like handwritten digital notes

Tried samsung pencil (best), ipad and hpx360 stylus (worst)

My notes were not tidy so dint feel like revising. Plus im lefty and write in a clumsy way somewhat like Obama, so now I only write few things on typed one note notes

16.2k views

Anyone would like to share screenshots of how their notes look. In fact more than that how you have organised your notebook structure ।

Also has someone been able to exceed 70 to 80 pages in tab written notes before giving up and going back to the notebook.

The big challenge is when we get back to the notebook, we get back to square one.

Azad, you and AJ here ( Arth jain, tank 16 ) made some very good impression on me when you were using typed notes on EN / ON. Why would you switch to handwritten notes¿



I am no knight. Do not call me Sir|Philosophy behind ForumIAS

16k views
If someone is using paper and pen all throughout,then switching to even Evernote and typing over there becomes a little tough.
I tried making notes but eventually gave up .
Sometimes suffer from fomo as everyone is using either the Evernote or one note.
Do you know anyone who used paper and pen for CA OR VALUE ADDITION TO existing static notes.


15.5k views
Neyawn,
17.7k views

i am using onenote for windows

pros: 

1. interoperability in multiple os ( windows, android, ios, ipados etc)

2. presence of draw feature for annotation and markup also, flowcharts and mind maps.

3. has most of the relevant features of ms-word (tables, highlighting etc).

4. unlimited cloud storage and sync.

5. web clipper is at par with evernote

cons.

1. will need a pc for easy edits.

Dauntless,
17.8k views

can anyone suggest good tablet in the range of 30000 ? ( purpose : note making) 


accio_cappuccino,
17.6k views

DMsaid

can anyone suggest good tablet in the range of 30000 ? ( purpose : note making) 

What size are you looking for, and what is the purpose? Note making or notes consumption / reading?


I am no knight. Do not call me Sir|Philosophy behind ForumIAS

15.5k views
@DM base ipad, with after market pencil should do the job (also, new freeform app, apple notes, unlimited cloud storage coupled with features like smart tags and smart folders should help.)


15.2k views

Neyawnsaid

Anyone would like to share screenshots of how their notes look. In fact more than that how you have organised your notebook structure ।

Also has someone been able to exceed 70 to 80 pages in tab written notes before giving up and going back to the notebook.

The big challenge is when we get back to the notebook, we get back to square one.

Azad, you and AJ here ( Arth jain, tank 16 ) made some very good impression on me when you were using typed notes on EN / ON. Why would you switch to handwritten notes¿


I switched to Tab because typed notes had some drawbacks-


1. Took a lot of time- Switching between tabs to get content. I used to write the content in my own words because copy-pasting from the source didn't work. Writing on tablet takes much less time and I can also curate my content- draw symbols, flow charts etc.


2. Revising was tough in Evernote because reading from the screen didn't involve me actively. I would take printout and read during the exam and scribble a few things over them. Transposing the same back to Evernote was difficult. So, those tid-bits of value addition remained on paper.


So, I thought handwritten notes on Tablet would make more sense for me. And, it did! I'm satisfied.


SwetSagar,
17.4k views

Neyawnsaid

» show previous quotes

What size are you looking for, and what is the purpose? Note making or notes consumption / reading?

sir, i don't have any idea about size but (ha handy hona chahiyae) it is more for  note making solely for ( education) . 🙏


15.1k views
@DM base ipad, with after market pencil should do the job (also, new freeform app, apple notes, unlimited cloud storage coupled with features like smart tags and smart folders should help.)


Which company? / generation 9th/ 10th


15.1k views
@DM check dm


15k views

I tried doing it on Ipad + Apple Pencil. I used apps like PDF Viewer, Good Notes, Pages etc. 


After suffering agony because of technical glitches, slow pace of writing, eyes dryness as ~ 9-10 hours screen time, I realised the beauty of Fresh White A4 Sheets coupled with TriMax. 


After shifting back to Pen-Paper Mode, I realised my presentation, speed, alignment improved which is sine qua non for Mains. 

Dwij,ryzenausterand2 otherslike this
17.6k views

@Neyawn 

This is how I have organised notes. I have integrated all the MGP questions + PYQs of the past 3 years topicwise. The next task is to further consolidate them in pointers. I keep on adding CA in respective topics daily. 

For Prelims, separate folders for main subjects to accumulate the 'wrongs' in the test series I'm attempting. The accumulated fodder and the topics related to them will be revised intensively.





Foucault1,Dwijand1 otherslike this
17.2k views
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