Recently Apple released its 2020 suite of iPads and now they are more affordable than ever before. Till a few years ago, the iPad was considered an entertainment alternative to the more traditional modes such as laptops and televisions. However, in recent years with increased refresh rates of iPad screens and introduction of Apple Pencil, iPads have become serious alternatives to your unassuming pen and paper. Here, we will outline some of the ways that you can use an iPad as your daily note-taking beast.
If you are starting your university education, imagine the number of notebooks that you would use in the next few years (and the number of trees that would be sacrificed to support your cause). And, if you store all your notebooks for future reference, you might end up owning a mini library by the time you graduate. Now imagine storing all of this and more on a device which you can carry around in your back pocket. Introducing the Apple iPad.
Apple’s iPad is an undisputed king of the tablet world at the moment and its growing adoption among students in recent years is a testament to its growing popularity in the younger school/university going population. Owning the right software is just as important as the hardware itself!
Let us look at some of the Apps that you should definitely checkout if you own an iPad:
GoodNotes
GoodNotes is one of the best apps available out there for students. It offers a lot of options when it comes to note-taking, and allows importing slides, pdf, or Word documents directly inside the notebook. It even allows you to link external content from the web. Further, it indexes the handwritten notes such that they are searchable later, making it extremely convenient for students to search their handwritten notes directly from the search bar. Goodnotes allows students to customize the image atop a given subject, similar to classic ruled notebooks, imparting a feel-good factor to students.
Notability
Notability offers much of the same features as Goodnotes. In addition, it offers students the ability to record audio while taking handwritten notes. This can come in handy when, for example, you want to recall what the teacher was saying at the time of writing a particular text. Needless to say, if abused, this feature can quickly take a toll on the amount of storage on your iPad or iCloud if you have backup enabled.
OneNote
If you happen to have an Office365 subscription via your university then OneNote is a great alternative as well. It offers a lot of features in terms of note-taking combined with great features from Microsoft. Unique features include math mode, which allows you to type out equations, solve them and graph them, equation mode allows you to write sophisticated equations without breaking a sweat, researcher mode allows you to find high-quality documents, websites, and images right from within OneNote. However, the inability to search handwritten notes may be a limiting factor for some.
Final Thoughts
With Apple’s iPads becoming increasing affordable, students now have a viable option to go digital and become truly paperless. While we mentioned some apps that are specifically designed for increasing productivity, Apple’s app store is filled with a number of other useful apps for a variety of different requirements.
Bonus Content: If you really like the pencil on paper feel, we highly recommend using a matte cover on top of your iPad screen. In our experience, it can bring an otherworldly effect to your writing experience.
Author’s note: We hope you liked this article! Did we miss something? Do you want us to include something more? Feel free to speak your mind in the comments section below. Cheers!
Good one