iPad Notebook apps
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- Category: Reports
- Published on Friday, 07 October 2011 04:44
- Written by Jeffrey A. Sigman
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Partial Report for a grant to test the use of the iPad to support teaching and research.
I have now tested several apps for taking notes on the iPad. The purpose is to identify an app that would be most suitable for use as an electronic lab notebook. However, there are many other uses for the apps. I tested several apps and found the best one overall to be Notetaker HD.
To be used a a lab notebook the app needed some essential functions that include
- upload to Dropbox and/or Evernote
- import pictures
- handwriting
- typed text
I have summarized the results in the table below. All of the apps support handwriting.
| App | Dropbox | Pen responsiveness | Zoom | Guard | typed text | additional functions | ease of use | overall rating |
| Bamboo notes | N | **** | N | N | N | * | **** | * |
| Mental Note | Y | **** | N | N | Y | **** | ***** | *** |
| neu.Notes | N | ** | N | N | N | * | *** | ** |
| Ghostwriter | Y | *** | Y | Y | Y | **** | **** | **** |
| Note Taker HD | Y | ***** | Y | Y | Y | ***** | ***** | ***** |
The Bamboo notes had the fewest functions and its only saving grace was that it had a good pen responsiveness.
Mental Notes had a lot of great functions like association with Calendar Events and audio clips embedded right in the note. It was easy to use and has a lot of potential but until they get a Zoom and Handguard for writing it will not match up to Ghostwriter or Note Taker HD.
neu.Notes just did not seem as intuitive to me and it is missing several key functions that would make it a viable option especially as a lab notebook. They have an neu.Notes+ version but it still does not have zoom or wristguard.
The two best options were Ghostwriter and Note Taker HD. They both cost $4.99 and I think they are worth that cost. They both upload to Dropbox and Evernote. That function is much more intuitive (ie easier) with Ghostwriter than it is with Note Taker. The Ghostwriter interface is just nicer and more intuitive. This makes Ghostwriter pretty easy to use and it has all the functions that I deemed required for a lab notebook. It also has a cool way of organizing the notebooks on a bookshelf. However, it is a little buggier (so far) to use than Note Taker HD and the pen responsiveness seems slower.
The pen responsiveness, the large number of additional functions and editing capabilities made Note Taker HD the best option for use as a lab notebook. The editing capabilities are similar to a word processor. It is easy to adjust fonts, add captions to pictures, etc. It has all these great shapes you can add to the notes, including an xy coordinate system. I plan to continue to use it and post additional comments about how well it works in the lab.
I have recently been using Notetaker HD to annotate pdfs. It has been very useful for writing the keys to my exams and quizzes. I simply import the pdf into Notetake HD then annotate and end it back up to dropbox. It can also be emailed directly to the students. I think it would be very useful for giving feedback on essays also though I have not used it for that yet.
I should also comment that several other Faculty have been using Notes Plus and like it very much, but I have no direct experience with it.