GoConqr’s Note-taking software is designed with learners, trainers, and educators in mind. It’s a free online study tool that makes it easier than ever to record and organise your ideas, then share them whenever you like, with whomever you like. Some at-a-glance benefits of GoConqr’s Notes Software: Access on mobile devices through the. I used Evernote during law school for taking notes. If you’re a student, I highly recommend you use it too. Evernote is a robust, free(!) note-taking application that allows you to remember and organize everything your professor throws at you. Notes you take on the Evernote desktop app automatically sync with your Evernote account online. We’ve put together our favorite apps for the Microsoft Surface tablet, from image editing to note-taking. Adobe Photoshop Express. Just like the name, Adobe Photoshop Express is the ideal app for image editing and enhancement while on-the-go. This free app comes with 15 one-touch filters as well as auto brightness and color correction. Note taking and document analysis tools have changed little from the margin notes, highlighting, and sticky notes we have used forever. Most apps today try to duplicate paper, but, in spite of this, over 80% of knowledge workers still prefer paper at work and school. LiquidText moves beyond paper.
For take home exams, you will start Exam4 the same way as an in-class exam except for the exam mode where you will type “TAKEHOME” instead of “CLOSED.” The exam questions are obtained directly within the Exam4 software as shown in the instructions below. The key differences between a take home exam and an in-class exam are:
- The software will allow access to the Internet and files on your computer such as class notes in “TAKEHOME” mode.
- You have the ability to start an exam and reopen it later if you prefer. To do so, choose “Select existing exam” when you open the software. Your exam is still automatically saved every ten seconds with additional backups being done every two minutes.
Law School Note Taking Software Program
Do not use Microsoft Word or any other word processor to type your exam. You must type your answers in the Exam4 software in “TAKEHOME” mode.
Here are some screenshots of the process that you will need to do to begin a take home exam:
- Open the Exam4 software and leave “Prepare to start new exam” marked and click the “Next” button.
To restart an existing exam that is in progress, submit an exam that has already been taken, or view an exam submittal receipt, mark the “Select existing exam option” and click the “Next” button.
- The “Exam # and Course” screen is displayed next. Enter the Exam number issued to you by the Registrar’s office and click the drop down menus and choose the exam you are taking. You are required to enter the Exam number and select the course twice to verify the exam is started with the correct information.
- Verify the Exam ID and Course are correct, check the box labeled “Check box to re-confirm” and then click the “OK” button.
- The “Takehome Preparations” screen is displayed next. This is where any necessary preparations that need to be done before beginning the exam will be listed. Click the “Continue” button.
- The “Exam time and Font Size” screen is displayed next. Set the optional countdown timer, any optional alerts that notify you when the corresponding amount of time remains on the exam, your preferred font size, and the number of answer separators you would like automatically entered. Entering answer separators will allow you to get word counts on each answer in addition to a total word count. Please note the optional countdown timer is informational only. It will not cause the exam to automatically end. Click the “Next” button.
- The “Notice of Instructions” screen is displayed next. Take note of the instructions shown and click the “Got it?” checkbox and then click the “Next” button.
- The “Exam Mode” screen is displayed next. Type “TAKEHOME” for a take-home exam. Click the checkbox to confirm the exam mode. Click the “Next” button.
- Verify the Exam Mode is TAKEHOME, check the box labeled “Check box to re-confirm” and then click the “OK” button.
- The “Almost ready to begin exam…” screen is displayed next. Verify that all of your settings are correct and click the “Begin Exam” button when you are ready to proceed.
- The software will then begin the exam and display the “Exam Information” screen. The exam due date and time are displayed at the bottom of this screen.
Two tabs labeled “Instructions” and “Resources” which contain important information are also displayed here. The “Instructions” tab will display any exam instructions that the faculty member has provided. The “Resources” tab will contain a PDF with the exam questions and any other resource files that faculty member has included.
After you have clicked the “Hide” button to start typing your exam answers, you can return to this “Exam Information” screen anytime by clicking the “Exam Info” menu at the top and then clicking “Remote Exam Info” from the choices there.
Law School Note Taking Software
Note taking at university can take many forms – you can use a pen and paper, tablet or laptop. I recommend you try as many formats as possible, but you must understand why you’re taking notes (and it’s not to scribble down every work the lecturer says).
It can be pretty easy for new students to get hung up on what to do for their first few lectures – this is a (relatively) quick post on the whys and hows of note taking.
Contents
Why take lecture notes?
The reason for taking notes will depend on how organised you are.
- Fill in the gaps in your knowledge – If you are completely on top of your reading, then your lecture notes will be dot-point reminders of what you need to go back and reread when the class is over (that is, what you didn’t completely understand when reading it the first time round). This will help you consolidate your knowledge and clarify any issues you may have.
- To do the minimum required – Unfortunately, we all find ourselves at this point somewhere along the way! If you’re behind in your reading, then lecture notes are to record any case or cases that the lecturer focused on so that you can add these to the top of your reading list. You don’t want to be in this situation for very long, but when you don’t have enough time to do everything, you should at least read and understand the main cases and concepts.
It’s also very important to remember what lecture notes are not meant for, which is writing down every last word the lecturer says! More on this below.
Effective note taking (plus an example)
You will quickly notice that everyone has their own unique way of taking lecture notes. However, some ways are far more effective and useful than others.
It’s easy as a new student to make the mistake of writing frantically, to the point that you have copied every last word the lecturer has uttered. This is a big mistake, because you are focusing so hard on writing that you don’t have any time to really think about what the lecturer is saying (and in particular, what the lecturer is placing emphasis on).
When you decide to take notes, you should only write down brief notes to job your memory when you come back to them.
For example, you might have finished your readings for contract law, but when you cover the Masters v Cameron case in class, you realise you didn’t fully understand the three classes of contracts. It’s easy at this point to step into auto-mode and start writing everything down, but stop and think about it; you already know you missed a critical point, so whatever you do, you will be reviewing the case after class. Give all your attention to the lecturer and make sure you understand what he or she is saying.
All you need to write down is:
- Masters v Cameron
- three classes
- 1 – parties reach finality of terms, but will restate later
- 2 – complete agreement, but conditional on execution
- 3 – no bargain unless execution
- also fourth class – another case – Baulkham Hills
That’s it – this could take 10 or 15 minutes for the lecturer to explain, but these are the key points. If you leave the lecture with a half page or full page of notes then you have been inefficient (and probably have a pretty sore hand). I know that it feels like a great safety net, but its not necessary.
At this point I should say that in law (and I’m sure in many other disciplines), your original lecture notes will never make it into any open book exam. They will be messy, unorganised, and incomplete, and you will have almost no time to navigate them in a time pressured exam. And besides, the preparation of your exam notes will require you to start from scratch anyway (I’ll be writing a post on this soon).
It’s all about learning, and as you get more experience in lectures, your notes will shrink. Consider this a (very) good thing because it means that you have learnt what the important parts of a lecture are, and that you are filtering out all the fluff.
The Cornell Notes method
The Cornell Notes System will come up a lot if you search for note taking tips in Google. Seriously, no law student I know would have time to invest in this – there is simply too much reading to get through to even consider following this method (just reading the Wikipedia page makes my head hurt).
Hey, if you have time after the mountain of reading to do this, then all power to you. Personally, I would focus on noting down enough information so that you can simply remember what case is being discussed, read it after class, and then using any extra time you have during the semester to prepare your exam script.
Best Law School Note Taking App
So… pen, tablet or laptop?
I have read so much advice on this topic where people just go completely overboard. You must do this, you can never do that! It’s ridiculous. Just pick one and see how it goes. Don’t like it? Then swap over and see what happens.
Use whatever option is easiest right now. Consider how fast you can write or type, whether you want to carry a laptop around, whether your tablet has a detachable keyboard (or whether you can actually use the onscreen keyboard effectively). Cost is another factor.
My note taking technique changed a number of times throughout the degree. I started with a pen and paper notebook. I can still recall how sore my hand was after an hour of solid writing after those first few lectures!
I moved onto a laptop, and instead of actually listening to what important cases and concepts the lecturers were focusing on, I sat there and tried to transcribe the every word that was spoken.
When I figured out that I didn’t need to take so many notes I moved back to a pen, and at times, a laptop when I could be bothered carrying it.
Honestly, at the end of the semester you will be preparing for the exams by using the notes you took when studying, not from your lectures. You’re own lecture notes will only play a small part in your exam preparation.
Note taking software
You will find reviews of different software and apps in a simple Google search.
I’m pretty boring, so I just used Microsoft Word for taking lecture notes (or notepad if I couldn’t be bothered waiting for my ancient laptop to load Word). It’s easy and almost any PC has it installed. Mac users can just use the equivalent (which may very well be Word).
In my opinion, the type of software doesn’t particularly matter, so there is no need to go out and pay money for any software package.
One last thing…
We all fall behind with weekly readings every now and again. Just remember, don’t go back to writing everything down. It only feels like you are being productive.
The best thing you can do is write down what the lecturer was emphasising and then make sure those cases and concepts are at the top of your reading list. When you find time to tackle them, at that point, you will do all the learning.
And as always, if you try these tips and hate it, keep experimenting – everyone is different, and you just need to figure out what works best for you.
Law School Note Taking Software Online
Good luck!