Livescribe 3 Pro Edition Smart Pen Review

Here is a review of what I think about the Livescribe 3 Pro Smart Pen

It cost around $200, and can be purchased here

I also buy the three subject notebooks tear the paper out and put it in a binder. This allows me to organize my notes.

The only unsatisfactory thing I have to say is the app for the pen can be very slow.

Here is the link to my review of the Livescribe Pen

Hope you enjoy! Any questions let me know! 

Preparing For a New Semester Of School

Being on vacation from work, and having a break off school. I still have a lot to do before I'm ready for the new Fall 2015 semester at college.

So here are the TOP things I always do to prepare for a new semester....

1. Clean out the computer
- I delete things I don't need anymore
- put documents in the right folders
- get everything organized to begin a new school year

2. Still living at my parents house, I always deep clean my room. I sweep, mop, and dust. I go through my closet, desk, dresser, vanity, and old drawers. I love cleaning so this really does help me get everything in place. I also clean my bathroom and car out to just get rid of clutter.

3. My favorite thing is to go and look through all my old school supplies. To figure out what I need for the new semester. Lucky this year I only had to buy new highlighters ( I really wanted the see through ones), one pencil (for my planner), one notebook (50 cents I plan on using it for studying), white out tape (the liquid wasn't doing the job). While everything else I already had including a file system, pens, folders, binders and loose leaf paper (I have a 2 inch binder FILLED with paper).

However, this year my mom bought me a Livescribe 3 Smartpen Pro Edition so I plan on using this to take notes. I'll do a review on this once I have started using it.

4. I clean all my bedding and jackets. I clean my bedding every two weeks, so the Sunday before I start school I'll clean my bedding again. I wash all my jackets because they've been hanging round my house through the summer. During Christmas break I wash them again before the Spring semester starts.

5. I pamper myself, I get a facial, my nails done, a haircut, go shopping for new clothes. I do this because what women doesn't love pampering themselves.

6. I get my planner cute, clean, and ready for the Fall. I make sure I've wrote in all the dates from the school calendar. Then for the Plum Paper Planner I have I write in my classes. I also make a note card of my class schedule with the room number.

What do you do to get ready for a new semester of school?

Five Ways I Take Notes in College

Starting my fourth year of college (I graduated with two associates degrees in May 2015) I've wrote notes in almost every way possible.

The way I write notes really depends on the class (duh). 

In my Social Psychology class, I wrote in 4 different ways until I figured out what was best. 

Types of Lecture I've had:

1. Goes along with Powerpoint

2. Just rambles 

3. Writes random stuff all over the white boards

4. Makes you write your own book notes then goes over stuff later in class. 

Hand Writing:

1. I bought a Cornell note book (here) when on sale these are the best deal. Original price is around $8. I use the same pen when I write in this notebook, because it writes fine and is really smooth (here is the type of pen).

I have a key when I write notes: 

Definitions have bullet points in the cue column

and arrows in the note section.

They are also highlighted yellowed if on a test, then blue if on final.

Powerful words have a circle around them 

~ Are the studies done

< Title of Powerpoint Page > 

I only do this for the Cornell System. However I plan on doing this, this coming Fall for notes also. 

 * I don't always use the summary part 

2. I also take notes by hand on normal college rule.. these notes are following a powerpoint so for this...

1. I < title the powerpoint slide> if the same slide goes on for three more slides, I don't rewrite it I just keep going under that titles. 

2. I number each slide and skip a line between each slide. 

3. I use different colored pens for definition, studies, and then just the rest of the writing. 

Having so much paper left over I've decided to do this type of note taking for my Fall 2015 semester. I will only change, one thing, I plan on incorporating the Key I use for the Cornell system.

3. Note taking from the BOOK....

I write my own notes going along with the book, leaving space in-between. Then when I get in class I write in whatever the Professor talks about. 

                    

Using Technology 

1.  I have an iPad that I use to follow along with Powerpoint during class. I only take my Macbook Air when I have projects. I hardly ever type my notes, you learn better if you have to physically write them.

I took these notes because I missed a day, lucky another student in the class had the notes and emailed them to me and I just added on to his.

* I recommend becoming friends or hope that a person who types notes will share them with you if you miss a day. 

I used my iPad when I took online classes, I haven't used my iPad for note in along time. But I might pick it up again this semester. 

Extra Way:

I once had a Professor who gave us the Powerpoint online. We had so many Powerpoint's (I filled a 3 inch ring binder FULL with all of them) I just decided to print them out in outline format and wrote my notes in. I ONLY used this for this one class. 

Then during my education class the Chapters were so short, my Professor printed out the Powerpoint's and gave them to use to write in whatever we wanted. 

Over all the type of note style I do depends. I usually go through each type of note taking, during the first week till I figure out which one will work best. Although, the Fall 2015 semester I plan on sticking with hand written while using my Key. I find I learn best using this method. 

Hope you enjoyed. Leave your own advice in the comments. 

My Review on the GoodNotes App

My amazing boyfriend finance got me a iPad Air 32GB Wi-Fi for my birthday. You can get it here.

I was sooo excited because I knew I could use it for school and it would be a lot easier then hauling around my skinny Macbook Air. 

However now on to the review I bought the GoodNotes app for around $3.99. I looked at a lot of other ones and this is just the one I decided would be best for me. 

So what can you do with the GoodNotes app 

1. The main thing (which i'm sure you can already guess) I write all my notes for my online class on this app. 

This is what the front of the Chapter looks like. The design in one you can pick from. 

This is what you can do instead of swiping through each page. You get an over view of them all. 

This is the "home" where all your notebooks are located

There are parts that are really important and I don't feel the need to write it down. So I simply open a text box and type away. 

This is what it looks like if you use a stylus pen. You can also upload google pictures and add them in.
These notes are from Child Psychology. 

I took a picture of the notes I had taken on paper and just uploaded them in to there own notebook in the app. 

My favorite part about this app is you can change the type of paper you want. You can have lined, graph, music, plan type of paper. I use it for math I'll draw my graphs, print them out and turn the graphs in with my homework. 

You can also had shapes, you just draw one and it forms into a straight one. 

We also have vocabulary for my math class, however; it's not required for the assignments but we still have to learn it for the test. So what I do it take pictures of the questions and just write the answer in using my stylus pen. Again why write a bunch of stuff when you can take a picture.

This is what it looks like when you are writing (the easier way).

The blue box shows up at the bottom. This is where you write at. 

This is helpful because it doesn't pick up your hand when you write (at least how I write). 

A blue box will also pop up once you write to the middle and what you do is just start writing in the blue box and it will take you to the beginning, end, or a new line of the page. It basically prevents you from having to move the blue box around to keep writing. 

Something else I do is I will take pictures of the homework I'm about to turn in. I do this because I turned in 3 math assignments and needed them to study with for the test that was two days later. So I obviously wasn't going to get those assignments back, but his worked just as well.

I will also keep pictures of work outs I want to do and I keep track of my plan of study. I recently changed my major and needed somewhere to keep track of all my classes.

   

It's a great app! I use it everyday for homework, exercising, and to watch some Netflix.

This is where technology has its advantages. 

My College Experience/ Survival Tips

I am a sophomore in college on my fourth semester, so I've had my share of college experience.

I can say one thing I'm going to a community college; therefore I'm use to the SMALL college environment.

Why I go to a community college?

      I got a scholarship called A+  the summary is you get TWO free years at a community college with in your state.

Some basic things about it are:

•   It only last four years AFTER you finish high school

•   You have to keep a 2.5 GPA at all times 

•   Fail a class you get put on a academic probation

•   You only pay for books 

I don't know if it’s available to each state. 

But, anyways on to my college experience-

Lets just start off by saying I was scared to death to go to college, like crying and shaking scared. The sad part is the college I go to is about the size of a Walgreens (not even joking- there actually rebuilding a new one right now). So being scared was funny at least to my boyfriend. 

Being scared is okay though, it something new and COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THEN HIGH SCHOOL.

 The first day I was going to school to become a Physical Therapist, I was taking basic classes to start off with, then my anatomy and physiology class. After two weeks I wasn't happy with my major anymore and did a completely 360 (well to me it was) and changed my major to Elementary/ Early Childhood Education. So after that decision I was set and went on about my first semester. The first day I made friends I has 3 classes with them so we just stayed together. 

The things I learned,

1.Don't buy any schools supplies till YOU GET TO CLASS, and then ask what they think you'll need.  (I buy everything before hand and had way to much left over)

2. Buy a big planner see here for what I mean. A planner will be your life savor in college literally. The big planner it's a lot easier to write all my classes stuff on instead of cramming it on a little one. 

3.Get an email if you don't have one, sometime the college gives you one but I don't always use that one. 

4.Buy your books before the first day of class- it's crazy the first day so avoid it 

5.Were you sit the first day usually is where you are ALL semester long/ the people around you become your lab partners PICK WISELY! I always pick up close to the front and toward the end of the table you can see all the notes better (yes I no teachers pet but I get side tract really easy if I'm not up front). 

6.Make a least one friend in each class- you need to make one friend to be able to email, Facebook, text and get information if you miss a day. I say this because I am a keep to myself and don't talk much unless it's to the instructor. (Some of my instructors will email what went on in class that day if you email them saying you can't make it. 

7.Don't expect to miss EVERY single day of class then show up for finals YOU WILL NOT PASS! Most people who do this I never see again. Remember it’s a small college you'll see everyone once or twice. 

8.Have a study plan; break days up to study for curtain classes. What I do is complete things as they are due 

   Example: If I have math due on Tuesday then I’m not going to work on the history I have due Thursday. Finish things, as they are due first.

     9. Learn to get sleep. The whole stay up all night and study crap doesn't work! I actually heard of a study, people who study then went to bed at a decent time did better on test. Then those who study and stayed up all night did worse. 

    10. Find a place to study- this place will be where you are always going to go to study. My example I studied in my bed for a whole semester then I found my self not being able to sleep at night because my bed was for studying not sleeping. So I bought a desk and started studying there it made a big difference. I really did. 

    11. And the last but best advice I can give (as of right now) is each instructor should (might) give a syllabus  Spring 2014 Course Schedule this will be your best friend through college.

•   I have a teacher who gives a week-by-week guide to what to expect.

•   I also have teachers who give you stuff each day so it’s important to show up to these classes. 

College is something everyone should get to experience I know its not always possible but don't think you can't ever go back because you can. And never give up! Get through those test, essays, and math assignments. I promise when you start check marking off the classes and get closer to your degree it makes all those rough day worth it.