Class Notes – Software Programs

I personally use Microsoft OneNote 2003 for taking my class notes. I find OneNote to be better than Word in terms of utility. Obviously you can replace Word with another word processor, or a text editor, but I’ll just use the term “Word” for any of these. (Sorry, I haven’t had a Mac in ten years. I do not know if there is a OneNote equivalent. I’m sure that there is one and it is likely much easier to use.)

I might sound like a shill for OneNote here but I only talk about it because I happen to use it. You do not have to use OneNote. Just use “what works for you.”

Hierarchy

Hierarchical notes can be done in either OneNote or Word. However, Word has a limitation on how many indents can be done (I believe it is nine indents from the left) and OneNote does not.  I personally believe in hierarchical notes. It helps to organize the material and is, visually, easier to understand.

For example:

• Copyright
  • Fair Use
    • Statutory Factor 1
      • Case 1 (Pg 433)
        • Rule
          
      • Case 2 (Pg 441)
        • Rule
    • Statutory Factor 2
      • Case 3
      • Case 4

It is very easy to see this and it leads towards your outlines. If you don’t do hierarchical it would look something like the following:

Copyright

Fair Use
Statutory Factor 1
Case 1 (Pg 433)
Rule
Case 2 (Pg 441)
Rule
Statutory Factor 2
Case 3
Case 4

Which one is easier to use?

(By the way, it is a good thing to put into your notes the page numbers of cases and other book material that the professor discusses. When working on your outlines this is really, really useful. It beats digging through the index looking for a case name.)

OneNote does have a feature that Word does not: structure. OneNote allows you to create folders, sections and pages for your notes. Usually I do the following: Folder for a class. Section to organize Class Notes. Pages for each day’s class notes and each reading’s notes. Usually for the pages I name them with a date and a couple words to indicate the topic. (“10-28 – Strict Scrutiny”)

OneNote has a nice find functionality where it will highlight the pages that contain the phrase you are looking for. (You’d have to keep hitting Ctrl-F in Word to find each instance of the phrase.) Thus you can very quickly determine that “Intermediate Scrutiny” was discussed on 10-28, 10-30, 11-3 and 12-1. I usually find this most useful in study group because I can quickly find the date and then point my Word-using study partners to the appropriate dates in their notes.

Auto Save

OneNote automatically saves your notes. You never have to hit Ctrl-S or the little button with the floppy.

If you do use Word, make Ctrl-S (or the Mac equivalent) automatic. The last thing you want is to type a long section and then have your computer crash without a save. Make hitting Ctrl-S something you do anytime you pause. It should be habit. Just keep doing it. 99.9% of the time it won’t matter. But that 0.1% will make it all worthwhile.

Printing

Word is better at printing than OneNote. However, I rarely print my class notes so, for me, it doesn’t matter.

Tables

OneNote does a weird table thing that I can’t really explain. Word is better for creating tables (especially when your professor puts one up on the board). Usually I just hand write the table on a piece of paper and then figure out later how to get it into OneNote. I’m sure there is a better way and maybe the new OneNote is it.

Google Desktop

If you use Google Desktop, there is no default indexing of OneNote .one files. You can find some plugins online. I’ve never tried them because I wasn’t sure how good they are at linking back to OneNote. Word is better for this.

Sound Recording

OneNote will allow you to record directly into your notes. You won’t have to keep your class recordings separate. I’ve never done it though.

Auto Correct

This works across all Microsoft Office tools (including OneNote and Word). If you’ve ever typed in (c) only to get ©, then you might know about Auto Correct and its effect. You might want to set up some shorthand to get common symbols. The most common are § (for section), ∏ (the Greek letter pi is often used to denote “plaintiff”) and Δ (the Greek letter delta is often used to denote “defendant”). I like to use → to indicate “therefore” (example: Δ is a doctor → higher level duty). There are plenty of other shortcuts or abbreviations you can use. (And “Jx” usually means “jurisdiction” which you will type endlessly in your Civil Procedure class.)

To set up Auto Correct in OneNote or Word, select “Auto Correct Options” from the “Tools” menu. In the box under “Replace” enter the shorthand text you want to use. In the box under “With” enter the symbol or character you want. Some examples you might try (the first for copyright is already set by default):

Caveat: Your exam software will probably block these during your exam so be mentally prepared for that.

UPDATE: (2008-06-30) Writing this post prompted me to upgrade to OneNote 2007. ($20 from my student bookstore.) The proof will be in the pudding once I actually am in class using it for notes. Here are my initial impressions.

• Auto upgrade of 2003 notes appears flawless so far. My notes were not complex: text only no graphics or sound. In case you need them, copies of the 2003 format notes are kept . . .  somewhere.
• The UI has been spruced up a bit. After two years with 2003, it will take some time to adjust. This is common with interface upgrades.
  • Just noticed that there are lots of >> buttons for expanding/contracting UI elements. Many of these are useful for seeing more organization tools.
• Tables! Fairly simple to add an N x M table: just select the appropriate number of rows and columns from the drop down. (Limited to 4 x 5 but can add more by using the Table menu.)
• Simple equations. In law school, I’m not sure of the utility of typing in “2+2=” and then having OneNote calculate the answer. However, law students are notorious for their lack of understanding of the real world which would include accounting and other simple math.
• The drawing toolbar (available from the view menu) seems to be a nice simple way of building flow charts. This may have been in 2003 but I never saw it before.

UPDATE: My short post about flow chart software is here.