Pen and paper, take a seat. There's a new way to take notes and it'll change your life. As you all probably already know Apple came out with a new invention called the Apple Pencil. It was basically designed to be an expensive stylus. Is it worth it though? I'm here to say, yes it is. (A word of warning before I go into why taking notes on my iPad has changed my life. Not all professors will be okay with you taking notes on your iPad, based on your major they might ask you to take notes the old-fashioned way.)

In a media-influenced culture, it's very hard to escape the constant need for WiFi and technology. I was very reluctant to start taking notes on my iPad because I like taking notes and, you retain information better when you physically write something down. After lots of deliberation, I bought an iPad to at least not have to lug around a laptop for just small homework tasks I can do throughout the day. After that, I looked into a couple of good apps for writing notes and settled on buying an Apple Pencil. I have enough online classes and work to do online to think that buying the Apple Pencil will be worth it. If you are still in a major that heavily relies on actual notes on paper I wouldn't suggest investing in these.

After having what I needed to start taking notes I quickly realized how effective it was to take notes on my iPad. It's easy to download PDF's of study guides or anything given to me to critically read and I can annotate all of it on my device. I also have my laptop to listen to lectures online and then take notes on the iPad. It not only has made my life so much more organized but it's also eco-friendly. I still have to take physical notes for some classes but I've found that it's a nice balance for me separating my in-person classes with my online classes. As for note-taking apps I've always enjoyed 'Notability.' It's my favorite because of its efficiency, the only downside I would say it has is that it's not free. It is $8.99 but it's only a one time fee and then you're free to use it whenever you want. Take the time to see if you can invest in a new way to take notes because it really helps in the long run.