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Using an iPad for college - word processing etc

Its good for basic stuff like doing outlines. However, at least for me, the touch interface comes crashing down if the work exceed three pages. If you are set on using it, then look into a folding keyboard where you can use some keyboard shortcuts. I use mine in the lab to 'throw some ideas down' but nothing more than that.
 
I couldn't write an essay on my iPad, nor would I take notes with it.

Hell I'd suggest using pen & paper for taking notes at university.
 
awmazz said:
This should probably go in the iPad app thread, but I've been trying out the Notebooks for iPad app and it seems to work a treat. It's text only so doesn't do embedded images** (in pdfs for example). Notes are arranged in 'books' which you can then mount on your Mac via wifi and treat like an external disk you just drag txt, rtf, pdf and other files on or off of like any other hard drive. You can also sync a book wih a folder on your Mac, but the notes lose their formatting (font etc) doing it that way as far as I can see.

http://www.alfonsschmid.com/Notebooks/Notebooks_for_iPhone.html
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Oh man, how did i miss this came out???? I checked at the end of the week even.

We LOVE notebooks here, and it is probably the one app that i will NOT hesitate nor complain about having to buy in iPad format even though I own it on the Touch.

Off to shop in fact!!
 
179202 said:
Just chiming in to say that I think it's rather funny that the iPad isn't suitable due to Pages inability to handle citations. When I was in Uni just a year ago, I did all those citations manually. Any reason this can't be done with an iPad??
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Agreed.

Seeing as I used a 386 running WordPerfect 5.2 to get me through writing papers for college, I have a hard time believing that Pages for the iPad isn't enough. Having to remove the perforated leader strips of the printouts was more of a hassle than doing citations.


s.
 
If you're just taking notes sure it would serve your purpose.

If you're trying to write up professional assignments and projects I suggest you invest in a Macbook. IMO you'll have less hassle with it.
 
Not everything needs citations. All of the lab reports I did this year at university I could easily have done on my iPad. Depends on your needs.
 
I sort of have to laugh when I read through these threads, I completed my education without a desktop or a laptop available besides what was available in the library with no issues, and although I'm now doing university part time again for some extra courses the ipad just in the short few days ive had it has been amazing. Once multitasking is introduced then it will take my last point of feedback away as I will have the ability to research papers better without switching between apps by closing some out.

The device is more than capable unless your course requires specific software installed
 
0dev said:
Very true, I used the netbook in school for a few months and still don't type too well on the keyboard. The iPad keyboard is heaven in comparison.
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But.. you do not have an iPad yet. How would you know?
 
I think it really comes down to how well you can use the iPad's keyboard. Some people really struggle with it, others such as myself find it just as comfortable as a physical keyboard or better. I've typed long letters, a chapter for a book and several long reports using the iPad's virtual keyboard and I'm very fast with it and I feel comfortable. So for me, it purely comes down to whether or not there are apps that allow me to do what I need to do. But if you simply suck at typing on this keyboard, then no software will make the word processing experience better.
 
Well I'm currently writing an essay on the ipad haven't really started the citations but I'm used to do them manually so hopefully page will let me do the proper footnote formatting. Other Than that the ipad is the perfect tool for school.

Goodreader
Uwrite (best note taking app), great palm rest surface, wide selection of pens.
Instapaper
Wikipanion pro
Dropbox
Page

With those apps you should be able to cover all your basis for most college/university work. Now I can be in the johns and still be productive ;) talk about maximizing your time.

Having a BT keyboard would be a good addition too. The on screen keyboard is nice but not meant for typing multiple pages plus it takes precious screen real estate.
 
I'm an undergrad business student and used it for note taking only in class, but ended up selling my iPad. Once you've used a laptop in class, there's no comparision. Sure you can do 99% of the things you need to do for school, but it was not easy, takes a hell of a lot longer, and not practical. Even with a hardware keyboard, it just took longer to move my finger all over the screen and try to do precise actions such as double tapping a sentence, adding equations, etc.

I'll say this, if I couldn't afford a laptop, I would try to find one of those Hackitosh-able Dell Mini's and install OS X on it (I won't go back to Windows). Use the iPad for fun and as a consumption device and you'll love it.
 
Also, can you really imagine typing for hourse on the display of the iPad? Yes? Can you? I doubt it. You'd be running around with that external keyboard in no time...
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YMMV, of course, but I'm doing my writing on the iPad these days, and I'm increasingly using the onscreen keyboard in preference to the Bluetooth keyboard or keyboard dock which I bought along with the iPad. (I make some of my living from writing so I wanted to be sure I had the best tools for the job.)

I guess much of this is a matter of personal preference. For me, the pleasure of working on the iPad outweighs the various minor annoyances (which I do not deny are part of the experience), and I've come over time to enjoy the quirky charm of the virtual keyboard, especially its ability to guess what I'm trying to say. There's something kind of great about typing "prox" and having the iPad guess that I'm going for "proximate". And I really dig the shortcut for typing diacritical marks like umlauts, which I need when writing in German.

But, as I noted, your mileage may vary.
 
Hi,

Seeing as Refurbished Macbooks are in the Apple Store for $759 I'd have a hard time convincing myself that an iPad is a better long term tool for school.

Having said that, I didn't even own a computer until after university. I just used the computer labs.

s.
 
I think it would be okay to use for college but I don't know if it's a complete replacement for a laptop. It's perfect for taking notes but when it comes to doing assignments and printing them and formatting them properly. I think it would be easier to use an iPad for note taking and other task like that but maybe not the whole passing the college course thing.

I have finished university for is year so I will have to wait till October to see how I use my iPad along side university. It will be perfect to take notes on in lecture and then use my MacBook to finish the final assignment.
 
It's been long since last comment, however this may be useful for the archive.

use the iPad for whatever works good for you taking notes and keeping an index of the info.

on the side, have pen and paper and draw or copy stuff that just makes sense and is practical to have in paper.

in the end you must be able to have a good amount of material in both digital and paper form linked to each other like a study guide. For example,

using pages, iWriter, or evernote, get the text down, then point to paper or photos you take of your paper sources.

"The principles of administration (see table 1 on paper 6.2.2010) are very important. The chart is also important because of the new market share (see chart1.jpg)"

Sounds like a lot of work but is not
 
I'm a junior in college right now, and it's fantastic. I actually just wrote two papers on it while my laptop's on the fritz. Also, it reads etextbooks beautifully, and as it's unlikely that digital versions of all your textbooks will be on the same platform, it's great that the iPad supports Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and a multitude of other readers. Two of my professors assign a ton of PDFs for class readings and iBooks works wonderful for reading those.
 
Ive been using "Notes Plus"

I use the onscreen keyboard with no difficulty. I will admit it was a little difficult to get used to but now, i love it.

If you look into "Notes Plus" you will notice it has ability to draw and has a nice shape detection system as well.

The program definitely takes a little time to get used to but works great. I even love the recording feature.
 
Well since someone bumped this thread anyways I must say.... if you can afford it.....

Macbook Air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I've written all of my assignments and papers this semester on my iPad. There were a couple of formatting issues, mainly with works cited and such.

After I was finished, I uploaded the papers to my iDisk through MobileMe, printed them on my home PC, and handed them in via email through the iPad.

It worked pretty well, and I used the iPad to take notes as well. All of mine were done with the on-screen keyboard, which worked quite well to be honest.
 
This is just what i'm thinking of for when i go to uni next year.
Have an iPad for notes and the odd assignment, copy to dropbox, and when back at the dorm, sync up to the mac mini and carry on the work there.
Ideal.
 
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