For students, few things are as important as the ability to take good notes. A quick and dirty guide to taking perfect digital notes. A quick and dirty guide to taking perfect digital notes. Learn how to take notes the right way. Here are some of the most effective tips for becoming a digital note-taking pro. Read more . The last thing you want to do is reread entire readings or reread massive passages only to reread material you've already learned.
In fact, everyone should be asking themselves an important question:How much time am I wasting with inefficient note-taking tools and techniques? Because bad grades affect more than grades. You will Never recover some of that lost time.
So do it right. As a student, there is one program that cannot be overlooked, and that program is Microsoft OneNote. There are many unique ways to use OneNote 10 unique ways to use Microsoft OneNote 10 unique ways to use Microsoft OneNote OneNote is one of the most underrated apps from Microsoft. It is available on almost all platforms and can do a lot of tricks that you would not expect from a note keeping app. Read More for course notes.
Here's how OneNote can benefit you the moment you start using it.
Microsoft has surprised people on the left and right with its recent changes in mindset. They didn't just offer Windows 10 for free. Should I upgrade to Windows 10? Should you upgrade to Windows 10? Windows 10 is coming, but should you upgrade? Like almost all changes, it's mostly good, but it also has drawbacks. We have summarized them for you, so you can make your own decision. Read More from us Microsoft has just released a significant portion of its code under a permissive open source license. This movement breaks with years of tradition. But why and what does it mean to you? Read more . But most importantly, they made OneNote available completely free. OneNote is now truly free with more features than before OneNote is now truly free with more features than before Evernote no longer rules the plethora of note-taking apps. Microsoft recently announced that OneNote would be freer than ever. Let us show you what this means in terms of features and functionality. Read more.
And yes, it really is free. All restrictions and limitations have been removed, so you can enjoy the full power of OneNote without paying a single penny. Can you say that about OneNote's competitors? Not exactly.
Evernote is a freemium app, so the free Basic accounts are useful, but they are severely limited in terms of features. For example, mobile offline access to notes requires a Plus account for $25 per year, while version history for notes requires a Premium account for $50 per year.
The other big contender is Google Keep, which is more like a primitive to-do list and corkboard of junk notes than a robust notebook for serious coursework. Also, Keep lacks many of the advanced convenience features that are present in OneNote.
Right now, no other note-taking app can match OneNote on price or functionality. You don't believe me. Let's take a deeper look at what OneNote can do for you.
The first big benefit of OneNote is that it takes the hassle out of staying organized.
Most note-taking apps have "notes" that are organized by "categories," which is just one level of organization. Some note-taking apps allow “tags,” which add a second level of organization. But only OneNote provides three levels of organization.
First, you have notebooks. These are top level categories on a broad level. Each notebook has multiple sections, and then each section consists of many different pages where each page is like a separate document. Finally, notes can be tagged even for fine-grained organizations.
OneNote also has support for templates. A template is a pre-made page with a particular type of layout. This can save you a lot of time by eliminating the trivial work involved in making all your notes fit the same layout.
And the good news is that you can create or edit your own OneNote templates. How to Use OneNote Templates to Stay More Organized How to Use OneNote Templates to Stay More Organized OneNote is a great way to keep your thoughts organized, and templates can make that process even easier. Learn how to use, edit and create your own templates with this guide. Read More This is one of the best features in OneNote for students who are picky about structuring their notes in a certain way.
Have you ever rummaged through your notebook looking for a specific sheet of notes only to find that it was stained, torn, or missing? The same thing can happen with digital notes (corrupted files, accidental deletion of paragraphs and saves, etc.) and it's a huge pain when it happens.
Luckily, OneNote keeps track of changes you make to notes. Not only is it useful for reversing crashes, but it's also great if you need to see when a specific change was made or who Made that change (in cases where multiple people are collaborating).
As for the actual process of taking notes, OneNote has some bells and whistles that will make you wonder how you ever took notes with any other program.
Not long ago, Microsoft added support for digital ink support for versions of OneNote that run on touchscreen devices. With a pen, you can write text, draw diagrams, and mark notes in a variety of colors and weights, and it will feel like you're writing on paper.
But for those who prefer to write on real paper, OneNote has excellent support for optical character recognition (OCR) . With this feature, you can not only convert images to text, but when you search for text, OneNote also search your images by instances in handwriting.
OneNote has So many Other features worth exploring, but we'll cover just one more here:the ability to insert media directly into your notes. It's not a unique feature, but it's so useful that once you start using it, you'll never stop using it.
Simply drag and drop files onto a OneNote page. It's great for keeping external resources organized with your notes, thus keeping everything within its rightful contexts and supercharging your OneNote notes. 5 Tips for Using OneNote as Your To-Do List 5 Tips for Using OneNote as Your To-Do List is making a task list on your to-do list? Set it up in OneNote to make things as easy as possible. Read more.
With OneNote so powerful and flexible, it can seem like an overwhelming program to get started with. But here's the thing:Microsoft wants to make it as easy as possible for you. That's why there are so many resources online to learn how to use OneNote.
For example, Microsoft recently launched an initiative called OneNote In Education, which is a resource dedicated to teaching users in the education field, including teachers, students, and administrators, how to get the most out of OneNote's features.
In the Students section, the site provides video tips and tricks for things like taking more effective notes, finishing your homework faster, and working with your friends on the same notes.
You can also visit the section of Office.com dedicated to OneNote 2013. Here you'll find beginner and intermediate tutorials to get the most out of OneNote.
But honestly, you don't really I need some of this. When you first open OneNote, the interface is intuitive enough that you can figure out the basics on your own without much trouble.
One huge OneNote's advantage over all competitors is the sheer number of platforms it covers. As a Microsoft product, one would think that it was only available on Windows, right? That's pretty far from the truth.
Here is each supported platform:
The only system missing from the list is Linux, but I think we can give Microsoft a pass for that, considering how many other systems there are supported. Maybe in the future we will see a Linux version, but at the moment there are no plans for it.
While the cross-platform availability is amazing on its own, the real benefit shines when you realize that OneNote makes it easy to sync your notes across all those devices.
Out of the box, OneNote has tight integration with OneDrive, which is Microsoft's cloud storage service SkyDrive for Windows 8 - the modern file explorer and cloud storage app SkyDrive for Windows 8 - the app cloud storage and modern file explorer Got Windows 8? Then you have SkyDrive and in combination with a Microsoft account you get 7GB of free storage. SkyDrive is a cloud storage solution and also works as a modern file explorer. Read More That should be more than enough for any student, even through four years of classes.
But because of the way OneNote works, it's easy to sync using another cloud storage service. The Cloud Storage Showdown:Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and more. The Cloud Storage Showdown:Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and more. The cloud storage scene has heated up. recently, with an expected input from Google and a revamped SkyDrive from Microsoft. Dropbox hasn't been challenged by major players for a long time, but that has changed... Read More Choose the one you like the most because in the long run it doesn't matter..
When you create a new notebook in OneNote, you can choose where to save that notebook. A OneNote notebook is not an individual file; rather, it is a folder which contains all the different sections and pages for that notebook. As long as the notebook folder is in the cloud, it will sync.
And as long as the particular cloud service you're using is available on the platforms you want to use OneNote on, then OneNote should be able to access laptops just fine.
Keeping your notebooks in the cloud is great for several other reasons besides ease of access:the cloud acts as a natural backup, and you can share note files with others. Both are critical for students!
Even after everything described above, there are still many other benefits of OneNote for students How to Use OneNote in School:10 Tips for Students and Teachers How to Use OneNote in School:10 Tips for Students and Teachers OneNote can transform the modern classroom . Microsoft's note-taking app is designed for both students and teachers. Go ahead, organize, collaborate, and share with these tips for taking better notes. Read More Instant screenshots, easy math equations, audio notes and more!
Ultimately, the point is this:no other tool is better for taking notes as a student than OneNote. Without a doubt, OneNote is the clear winner. So what are you waiting for?
Once you're a little more comfortable with the app, check out these ways to get more out of OneNote 5 ways to get more out of Microsoft OneNote 5 ways to get more out of OneNote Read More from Microsoft and these tricks to get even more productivity out of OneNote 5 ways to be productive with Microsoft OneNote 5 ways to be productive with Microsoft OneNote Feel the need for an offline organization tool that also exists on the web? Surprisingly, Microsoft has found the perfect solution:OneNote. Read more.
What do you use to take notes? How does it compare to OneNote? Are there any contenders worth mentioning? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
