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Laptops

DesolateDesolate
edited June 2009 in General
Oh hey, I have another question.
Do many people bring their laptops to lectures for note-taking? I am an INCREDIBLY slow writer, but a fast typer and think I would benefit from that. When I went to a scholarship reception I talked to Jane Fee, a prof. in the department of linguistics, and she said that she despises laptops. I can't remember if she said she didn't allow people to use laptops in her lectures or if she just looks down upon it.

My questions are:
Do many people bring them?
Do any professors not allow you to use them?
Are there any sockets to plug your laptop into in lecture halls (if your laptop doesn't have very good battery life)?
In general, do you recommend the use of a laptop for notetaking during lectures?

Thanks

Comments

  • Ether
    edited June 2009
    Yes.
    As far as I know, no.
    A few. The newer lecture halls have more.
    No. I lost count of how many lectures I've wasted because of my laptop. It's better to be following the class and thinking critically. I've found it's more useful to go to class with no laptop and pay attention rather than try to copy down every single word the prof says. It gets boring, and the temptation to use teh internets is too great.
  • Lixie
    edited June 2009
    The power of Internet!!!

    I haven't run into profs who won't allow it. But like Ether said, don't waste your lecture. I still take general notes, but mostly I will have my laptop closed during the lecture. Some course also come with a lot of online material and since I don't like printing excess shit out, I just use the trusty laptop.
  • EricJ
    edited June 2009
    Most SFU surrey lecture rooms have outlets at every seat.
    I dunno about burnaby, but they are definitely in short supply.

    A laptop can be helpful maybe if you don't get distracted from the lecture. I've only had a couple of profs who didn't like laptops.
    My calculus teacher outright never wanted to see them (not that you'd need one for calculus, or if you would you would use a tablet pc.. probably... which a few people did)
  • rkn2
    edited June 2009
    I generally use a laptop for notes since I write really fast and it gets messy. I don't take a lot of notes since most of my classes have slides online then I just add to them.

    I find that they help as long as you don't get distracted by the internet. When I can't get a seat by an outlet I turn my wireless connection off to save some energy and resist tempation a bit.
  • hikin
    edited June 2009
    i have run into a few proffs who dont allow them.
  • tikwoze
    edited June 2009
    I always use one... I could never go without my tablet for calculus and math classes!
  • icerider
    edited June 2009
    I haven't used a laptop in lecture yet. Writing in a notebook makes it more memorable for me, and I'm able to draw things and organize things the way I want without having to think where to put my mouse or change the font or the colour etc. There's something about about good ol paper that computers can't beat.
  • DesolateDesolate
    edited June 2009
    How fast-paced are lectures generally? I'd be fine with just writing notes and maybe typing them out or doing something with them later, but I'm a decently slow writer who doesn't like to use abbreviations and such. So I think I might have a problem. :\
  • vonnie
    edited June 2009
    I've only had one lecture that I actually needed a laptop because it was excel based, and there were too many students to do lab lectures. (BUS336).

    You should learn to write faster, lol.
    But laptops are really not needed. Definitely a distration as Ether mentioned.

    Depends on the prof too... but always seem to get all my notes and I'm not the fastest writer. If you missed something you can just ask the person beside you, that's what I do.
  • ikkaku
    edited June 2009
    I used to always bring my laptop with me, because just like you I'm a slow writer, or if I write quickly it's not readable. It is a distraction, I'm always on fb, random forums, msn. If you have the will power to not go online, it may be okay.

    Some profs will give you online notes, and some won't. You have to decide whether or not it is necessary. For me, if there are no online notes and the prof has a lot of slides then I will bring my laptop. However, if there are online notes, I would most likely print them out and jot down additional information.
  • iLLmAtic
    edited June 2009
    I always bring my laptop for Arts classes. It's really important for me because I manage to get down everything. I don't find it as a distraction at all, because I never log onto the internet in class. It's really not too difficult IMO.
  • icerider
    edited June 2009
    You should make up a list of abbreviations, it helps a lot. I was a bit weary about using abbreviations since I was afraid it would start looking like a 12 year old typed it on msn, but it shouldn't be a problem. You can just write the first few letters of a word, or take out the vowels, and it'll still be readable.

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