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iPad Apps for College *updated*

M

ModestForumName

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 11, 2010
167
2
I'm a Biochemistry major looking to buy an iPad. being a biochem major i take lot's of notes (emphasis on lots) which include both in depth notes and organic chem structures. I'm wondering if there's an efficient iPad app that can let you handwrite notes and draw structures and let you sync them to your computer via PDF files or otherwise. Is there one that can do that and has handwriting recognition? Thanks much for the help.


*update*
I found a really cool app but still timid. Any good reviews on PenUltimate???
 
ModestForumName said:
I'm a Biochemistry major looking to buy an iPad. being a biochem major i take lot's of notes (emphasis on lots) which include both in depth notes and organic chem structures. I'm wondering if there's an efficient iPad app that can let you handwrite notes and draw structures and let you sync them to your computer via PDF files or otherwise. Is there one that can do that and has handwriting recognition? Thanks much for the help.


*update*
I found a really cool app but still timid. Any good reviews on PenUltimate???
Click to expand...

Hey there,
I'm not a biochem major but I'm actually going to finish taking intro biochem at the end of this summer...I feel like an iPad just wouldn't do you justice at all for some reason. As you said the notes you will be taking will be in-depth and probably involve a lot of mechanisms/curly arrows/all that jazz, and I feel like, even with stylus in hand (something like Pogo Sketch or whatever people are using with the iPad right now) it'd be too slow and get to be real frustrating.
I don't personally have an iPad myself, but I've used one enough to realize that, at the very least, I'm much better off typing notes for biochem (lecturers provided all structures needed on powerpoints, so I can just annotate from there).

Have you ever thought about a LiveScribe pen though? Again, never tried one, but I'd be closer to buying that thing that an iPad personally. Basically it's a digital pen that uses special kind of paper and you can not only keep a paper copy of your notes but you can also transfer those notes to your computer by connecting your pen to your computer and the software does the rest. What's extra cool about the LiveScribe is that it RECORDS what your professor is saying concurrently with what you're writing. Go on the LiveScribe website and check out a demo; it's pretty neat.

Hope this helps!
 
Mods, can this be moved to an iPad forum? The individuals in one of those forums will be able to offer more advice, and the thread will be seen by more people who can benefit from the knowledge.

I'd love to hear what people have to say.

OP, I'm a biochem major as well and will be taking the course in the fall. I've been really considering purchasing an iPad before the start of the semester and was looking for apps for the same purpose as you.
 
Papers looks very promising for keeping yourself organized at university. My wife scored a free license, and just started using it in the last month or so. Thus far, an impressive piece of software for your Mac, at least for higher education.

There's a companion app, Papers for iPad, that might suit some of your needs. I don't think it has all of the features you're looking for... to be honest, I've barely looked at it myself.
 
heesey1010 said:
Hey there,
I'm not a biochem major but I'm actually going to finish taking intro biochem at the end of this summer...I feel like an iPad just wouldn't do you justice at all for some reason. As you said the notes you will be taking will be in-depth and probably involve a lot of mechanisms/curly arrows/all that jazz, and I feel like, even with stylus in hand (something like Pogo Sketch or whatever people are using with the iPad right now) it'd be too slow and get to be real frustrating.
I don't personally have an iPad myself, but I've used one enough to realize that, at the very least, I'm much better off typing notes for biochem (lecturers provided all structures needed on powerpoints, so I can just annotate from there).

Have you ever thought about a LiveScribe pen though? Again, never tried one, but I'd be closer to buying that thing that an iPad personally. Basically it's a digital pen that uses special kind of paper and you can not only keep a paper copy of your notes but you can also transfer those notes to your computer by connecting your pen to your computer and the software does the rest. What's extra cool about the LiveScribe is that it RECORDS what your professor is saying concurrently with what you're writing. Go on the LiveScribe website and check out a demo; it's pretty neat.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Oh I've heard about that. Was interested but wasn't too keen on the exclusive paper thing but i can look it over again. If not i can just keep up the old fashioned way and just add to my ever growing library of notes, textbooks and Sci-fi and fantasy books :cool: <=rick astley?

note: Mechanisms = death

scienide09 said:
Papers looks very promising for keeping yourself organized at university. My wife scored a free license, and just started using it in the last month or so. Thus far, an impressive piece of software for your Mac, at least for higher education.

There's a companion app, Papers for iPad, that might suit some of your needs. I don't think it has all of the features you're looking for... to be honest, I've barely looked at it myself.
Click to expand...

I actually happen to have Papers on my MBP so I'll do some research into the iPad version.


Thanks for all the help guys (and girls?) this community is 1 chromosome away from family.
 
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