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After a week of working on this subject, I’m now fully prepared for class. By this point, I have a good understanding of how the professor conducts the class and what she expects from us. This preparation comes from practice. I always make sure to have my computer glasses and iPad ready, with the Apple Pencil charged before the class starts. The last thing I want is for the Apple Pencil to run out of power during the session, as it takes a few minutes to fully charge. By charging it beforehand, I avoid the hassle of having to type my notes if the battery dies. I also keep two pens and a piece of paper handy for the small assignments we turn in during class, which is all the paper I need for this course.
When class begins, the professor often hands out additional reading material on paper. I use Scanner Pro to quickly scan these notes and create a PDF file that I can annotate digitally, rather than marking up the physical paper. Scanner Pro is great because it automatically recognizes the document I’m scanning and snaps a picture, allowing me to scan multiple pages quickly with minimal effort. This feature is especially helpful given the size and weight of my 2015 iPad Pro, which isn’t ideal for scanning or taking photos. Scanner Pro makes this process much easier.
To ensure I get the best scans, I sometimes need to edit the images to remove any parts of my desk that spill into the picture. Since Scanner Pro automatically captures most images, it occasionally scans beyond the paper’s borders. I usually perfect these scans during short breaks or once I get home, depending on how many scans I need to go through. For this particular class session, there were a lot of notes, so I had to fix them later.
During class, I also audio record the discussion using Notability. Before the session, I studied the topic and created a rough mind map in LiquidText, which I keep open in split view on the left side of my iPad screen for reference. On the right side, I have Notability open with the audio recording feature activated. I love recording my classes, even though I still take notes, because it ensures I don’t miss anything. Later, when reviewing my notes, I can refer back to the audio if something doesn’t make sense or if I feel I’ve missed an important detail.
Occasionally, the professor assigns tasks to solve in our notebooks. Since we don’t have to submit these, I do them on my iPad, which she checks directly. I really appreciate how open-minded she is about technology, which means I don’t have to deal with scanning bits of paper to add to my notes. Some professors are resistant to technology, and their classes usually don’t benefit me as much, especially when they insist on no tech in the classroom. I often end up losing the notes from those classes, which is frustrating. Ever since I went paperless, I have an almost obsessive urge to discard every piece of paper I encounter. Sometimes I later realize I wasn’t supposed to throw something out, but by then, it’s too late.
For this class, I managed to edit my scanned pages during the break and add them to my class notebook in Notability. My setup involves keeping my personal study notes in LiquidText and my class notes on the same topic in Notability. I then use these notes from both apps to create my final study notes whenever I find the time, though time is usually scarce.
Update: I eventually stopped using Notability and switched to MarginNote 3 instead of LiquidText.
