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One of the best benefits about going to college nowadays is the option to take notes using a laptop or netbook rather than handwriting it. Typing out your notes can offer many distinct and huge advantages:

• Speed. If you know how to type, you can usually type much faster than you can write. The less time you spend writing, the more time you spend listening.
• Convenience. If all of your files are saved on your laptop, you don’t need to worry about losing your notebook for that class, or checking to make sure if you have the right one.
• Organization. You have a lot of control over how you take notes — you can make lists, you can bold/italicize/underline words, you can highlight important topics, you can make headings, and so forth.
• Ctrl+F. If you’re trying to find a specific topic, you can use the nifty shortcut ctrl + f to find the topic quickly rather than hunting through many handwritten pages.
• Easy to share. If a friend needs to look at your notes, it’s easy to just copy the file/text, rather than lending out your notebook or photocopying a couple of pages. Plus, it’ll always be neat and legible!

If you want to take notes with your laptops, there are some things to definitely think about beforehand:

Does the professor allow notes with a laptop?

Nowadays, you can (usually) assume the professor will allow notes from a laptop. From my experience, most professors who don’t allow laptops feel very strongly about it and will make it immediately clear on the first day of class, verbally and/or in the syllabus. For larger lectures, laptops are virtually always allowed, but for small classes of about 20 or less, laptops may be a bit more iffy.

You should always respect a professor who doesn’t allow laptops.

Find a good program to take notes with.

For most uses, a typical word processor (like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Writer) will do just fine. These programs provide enough features — such as bolded words, headings, and so forth — for you to get by just fine.

You can use a simple text editor like noetpad if you want to, but these lack the organizational options you’ll probably want. You should definitely stick with a word processor.

If you have Microsoft Office, OneNote works incredibly well and is definitely worth trying.

How you organize your files is up to you. I like to keep all of my notes for a class in a single file, but if you want to create a new one each day, that’s fine.

Concentrate on the class.

If you know how to type without looking, this is ideal. Pay attention to what the professor says and occasionally check to see if what you’re typing is still understandable. You can correct simple misspellings later.

Avoid distractions!

This is a big one. If you have your laptop with you, you have all the distractions that come with it, like instant messaging and Facebook. Keep any programs closed that will distract you and don’t you dare open them.

Similarly, don’t distract other students either. Make sure your sound is muted. Try not to type too loud. Also, what you have on screen can be distracting too — if you’re playing Tetris or something, other people can see that and it’s easy for them to be distracted as well.

Make sure you have enough battery life.

You should charge your laptop before class to prevent it from dying on you. If you’re having trouble getting enough battery life, you should check out these tips to avoid running out.

Some classrooms have power outlets, so bringing your adapter is a great idea just in case.

Keep an eye on your laptop.

You may have a laptop lock back at your dorm,  but in class your laptop is fair game. Never leave it unattended — keep it with you wherever you go, or at least make sure a trustworthy friend is watching it. Laptop theft is extremely common at college, and losing your laptop is the last thing you want.

Of course, you also want to take care of your laptop. Put it in a protective case and set it down gently. Treat it well.

Not all classes are well-suited to take notes on a computer.

For some classes, you’ll find that taking notes on a computer can be a problem. Most math classes are horrible for taking notes on a computer because they rely heavily on drawn diagrams and complex symbols. Even though some programs will allow you to make these diagrams or symbols, you’ll find it will go much faster if you draw them, making handwritten notes the preferred way.

Although some simple drawings are easy to make on your laptop, for any class with many difficult drawings or symbols, you should avoid the laptop.

Largely, you should use your laptop to take notes if it helps you out. If you do better by hand, then by all means use your hand! The point is to make learning easy for you, not to inconvenience yourself.