Microsoft OneNote is a versatile digital notebook that is available anytime, anywhere. It’s available as a traditional desktop app, a web app, a mobile app, and a simplified version comes pre-installed with Windows 10. Paired with a Wacom pen tablet, the functionality of OneNote is enhanced so you can include handwritten notes, sketches, diagrams, equations and more.
In the video below, UK-based YouTuber Shivani, who was a final year medical student at the time of recording, shows us how she uses a One by Wacom pen tablet with OneNote to write, store, search, and share her school notes. You may even get a glimpse of a day in the life of a med student by watching her video.
“A pen tablet is a cheaper alternative to buying a new iPad or any touch screen device,” she says. “It still enables you to make digital notes. Its lightweight and easy to carry and I wish I started using my pen tablet for making notes sooner. It can be tricky to get used to using a pen tablet to make written notes on your laptop, but in this video I share different tips on how to make this process easier.”
It can be difficult to get used to a digital pen tablet when one is used to using paper, but the transition can be pretty smooth, and the outcome is worth it! “I use my graphics tablet regularly to make handwritten digital notes. It wasn’t always like this, though — I started off making typed notes at the start of my degree but I didn’t really enjoy doing that. So I spent a lot of time handwriting my notes. However, as the years went by I found that I was just stacking up a lot of paper notes that were difficult to navigate. For example, if I wanted to search my notes for Marfans syndrome, it would take me ages to find out bits I had written about it from all of my years of studying. For a while, I contemplated buying an iPad Pro and apple pencil to make my notes, since I really enjoy making digital art too. But it was just waaaay too expensive for me to justify buying at this point in my life as a student, so I carried on making traditional handwritten notes.”
But when she realized there was a cheaper, simpler alternative, she went all in. “Then I rediscovered my Wacom tablet, and started making digital notes. Now everything is so much easier to find, I can write as much as I want and I don’t have to worry about carrying all of my notes to the library to revise a certain module. Everything is on my laptop. Even better, I can access everything on any device as long as they are connected to the internet. If you’re a medical student or any type of student, you will probably find this to be a useful alternative to buying an iPad. You can connect a Wacom tablet to whatever device/laptop you’re working with – you don’t need anything fancy.”
Check out more of Shiv’s videos on using a Wacom tablet for notetaking, or check out her YouTube channel for all of her videos.
