Years ago, students had no choice when it came to note-taking. All you had at your disposal were a pen, a pencil, and a paper notebook, and you had to make do with that. Oh yes, there were also highlighter markers – but whoever had the time to use those?
Yet, luckily for students, times have changed. Nowadays, technology has completely transformed the note-taking process, making it faster, simpler, and more convenient. You needn’t handwrite anything anymore – all you need is a tablet or a smartphone with note-taking apps installed on it.
What’s more, these apps have also facilitated the essay writing process: students can now arrange notes digitally during research and access them in seconds. Yet, thousands still need essay writing help – partly because they haven’t learned to use technology to their advantage yet. Or, perhaps, they just haven’t found the right app.
Are you still searching, too? Then, read on, and we’ll explain why the Notability app from Ginger Labs might be just what you need.
Notability App Overview
Before we get into more detail, here’s a quick overview of the Notability app.
Notability is a mobile app developed by Ginger Labs in 2010. Since then, the company has updated the product more than 50 times, fixing bugs, adding new features, and making it even more functional and convenient.
Today, Notability is the leading note-taking app for iOS. Currently, it has nearly the highest rating in AppStore and is regularly featured in the Editor’s Choice section.
Here is some more basic info about the app that you need to know:
- it is built exclusively for iOS;
- it provides free access to basic features but requires a yearly subscription for full functionality;
- it allows access to notes from Android and Windows devices via iCloud in full (paid) version;
- popular with students, teachers, creative professionals, and everyone else who needs an app to take notes and sketches on the go.
Although the program is popular overall, students love it more than anyone. Here’s why you should choose Notability for your studies, too.
Reasons to Choose Notability For Your Studies
From not having to store piles of paper notebooks on your desk to editing PDFs on the go, here’s how Notability can help you as a student.
No Need for Paper
In the pre-mobile app era, you’d typically choose from only two options: have separate small notebooks for every subject or a big one for everything at once. However, both these options had their drawbacks, and the main one was the paper itself.
The point is, paper is physical media, which means you need to store it somewhere. By the end of the term, the paper would be everywhere in your room. But not if you switch from paper to Notability. Besides, going digital simplifies the search process. There is even a search option for handwritten text!
Shareability
The tedious process of photocopying lectures is gone for good, too – thankfully. If you’re using a note-taking app, that is. With it, you can easily share any info you choose with a fellow student or have it shared with you.
Moreover, you can collaborate on editing and share all the edits in seconds. You can do it at any time without going out and wasting a second. Plus, you can share your info with fellow students who don’t have an iOS-operating device via iCloud.
Easy Structuring
Structuring information on paper can be a nuisance – especially when you have notes on so many subjects as students usually do. Luckily, you don’t have to do that anymore. In Notability, you can easily organize your library using Subjects and Dividers.
Additionally, you can create Dividers within Dividers (only five levels, but that is usually enough), plus you can also create multiple subjects with the same name if you need to.
An Abundance of Text Editing Tools
Without going into too much detail, let’s admit there are loads of handy tools in the app that make using it a sheer pleasure.
There are customizable colors and fonts, a highly functional eraser that allows you to erase in the same manner as you would do on paper, and more. All in all, Notability text editing tools make your notes as good-looking as they’d never be on paper.
Multi-Note Function
This function deserves a separate honorable mention because of how convenient it is. Using it, you can edit two documents at a time, copy and paste any section you need, and compare the results.
For example, this can come in handy if you need to highlight portions of text from a textbook and summarize it in a separate text. Alternatively, you can use the Note Switcher function to switch between documents.
Annotating PDF Documents
One more useful feature of the Notability app is PDF documents annotation. You can use it to fill in the gaps in a worksheet your teacher sends you to add handwritten notes in your textbooks or fill in any forms in any documents.
Some people even use this feature to fill in and sign forms. For this purpose, you can import a PDF file to open it in Notability, fill in the gaps, and then export selected pages to email them back without printing them out.
Audio Notes
Not a fan of writing or typing? You can use Notability for recording audio notes, then. What’s more, you can link the audio to your text annotations and jump to any point in the recording by clicking on the text.
You can also edit your audio, export it, and add new annotations while playing back the recording. And you can also change playback speed!
Wrapping Up
Paper notes are outdated. Today, students can have everything they need in one app on their tablet or smartphone. Programs like Notability offer functionality that can save you loads of time, space, and energy. So, it’s high time to embrace the change!