Tablet PC's

[Julie]

All (or almost all) students at Ottawa U med get a tablet for their studies (this year was Lenovo X61). Opinions vary, but personally, I don't think I would ever go back to a non-tablet computer. I handwrite almost all my notes directly on the powerpoint slides (in a program called OneNote that came with our laptop). I find I can go faster, add arrows & diagrams, circle, highlight, etc. There are ton of pen & highlighter options, which means I don't bring any to class. It's easier to make really clear notes, I find, with a tablet than on paper. Our laptop is also super lightweight, which is nice since we bring it everywhere we go.

I do end up printing many of my notes before exams. I find it easier to study on paper, for some reason. I tried it with just the laptop, but couldn't get used to it. It works for some people in my class, though. I think the tablet still somewhat saves paper for me, because with a zoom option, I can write way more on a ppt slide than I could otherwise. When I zoom out & print it's still really clear, so I can print 6 slides/ page no prob. Also, I don't print all my notes, just the classes I want to study more throughly.

Everyone in my class is different though. Some people love the laptops, some hate them. Some people use the tablet function, some don't. It depends on your style, I guess.