3 ms·

Do good grades equate to a good student, and a bad grade to a bad student? I'm the kind of person who is easily distracted in class and often misses the point.

Do good grades equate to a good student, and a bad grade to a bad student? I'm the kind of person who is easily distracted in class and often misses the point. Even with handwritten notes, I can't recall key points. That's why I built the AI Notebook App. Designed for college students and ADHD-friendly, it captures everything you see and hear in class. Upload images, audio, PDFs, and web links. Consider it your second brain! I aim to help students capture everything in class, organize it into notes with summaries, and even chat with AI to understand complex topics. I'd like to ask for advice on reaching college students. I'm open to affiliate collaborations. Thank you!

bigfudge 2y ago
Good students select and focus on the most relevant information in a class, and rehearse it for themselves or practice skills outside it. There is some limited evidence that making note taking easier or notes easier to read leads to worse memory for key material. For my students with adhd, I’m honestly not sure more tech is the issue.
- rcarmo 2y ago
  I agree. The whole poin of my taking notes by myself in college was to help me memorize the fundamentals and help me reason out the more complex stuff through dedicated focus time. Notes I got from other people (when I missed class or for comparison) just didn’t stick to my mental map of the course, and I suspect AI is useless for that as well. It would be better to take my existing notes and automatically create quizzes or flash cards.
  - sandykongkong 2y ago
    AI notebook can "read" your handwritten notes too. You can simply take pictures and to upload it. The app can automatically create quizzes or flash cards.
- freilanzer 2y ago
  Some professors and lecturers don't release any PDFs, so this might be invaluable to have at least a transcript of the lecture.
viraptor 2y ago
I'm not sure making the note capturing less engaging and easier to ignore is going to be helpful for ADHD-i adjacent people. At least noting things down forces a single task to some degree.
- sureglymop 2y ago
  What helps me as an ADHD-student is to turn off any laptop or device completely. Desk empty, no notes, no distractions whatsoever. Just focusing on what the teacher is saying. The real studying comes after or before the lesson and that's when these tools help. I also just think many people never really learned how to study.. the magic never happens as one is in class.
  - viraptor 2y ago
    You're right, I over generalised a bit, it's going to mesh with some better than others.
vasco 2y ago
The funny part is that the importance in taking notes is the physical aspect of the fine motor control associated with writing making it easier for you to remember what you wrote. Even pressing keys on a keyboard eliminates this factor. Edit: Let me get an actual source.. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.... > As traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human brain. Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning. > Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns that promote learning. We urge that children, from an early age, must be exposed to handwriting activities in school to establish the neuronal connectivity patterns that provide the brain with optimal conditions for learning.
- theGeatZhopa 2y ago
  Thanks. That's what I also notice by myself. If I want to really learn something, I write and read books. If it's about to get an overview, I read and write digitally. Chances are good, I forget bout this comment in 3..2..1 ... :)

bigfudge 2y ago

Good students select and focus on the most relevant information in a class, and rehearse it for themselves or practice skills outside it. There is some limited evidence that making note taking easier or notes easier to read leads to worse memory for key material. For my students with adhd, I’m honestly not sure more tech is the issue.

rcarmo 2y ago
I agree. The whole poin of my taking notes by myself in college was to help me memorize the fundamentals and help me reason out the more complex stuff through dedicated focus time. Notes I got from other people (when I missed class or for comparison) just didn’t stick to my mental map of the course, and I suspect AI is useless for that as well. It would be better to take my existing notes and automatically create quizzes or flash cards.
- sandykongkong 2y ago
  AI notebook can "read" your handwritten notes too. You can simply take pictures and to upload it. The app can automatically create quizzes or flash cards.
freilanzer 2y ago
Some professors and lecturers don't release any PDFs, so this might be invaluable to have at least a transcript of the lecture.

viraptor 2y ago

I'm not sure making the note capturing less engaging and easier to ignore is going to be helpful for ADHD-i adjacent people. At least noting things down forces a single task to some degree.

sureglymop 2y ago
What helps me as an ADHD-student is to turn off any laptop or device completely. Desk empty, no notes, no distractions whatsoever. Just focusing on what the teacher is saying. The real studying comes after or before the lesson and that's when these tools help. I also just think many people never really learned how to study.. the magic never happens as one is in class.
- viraptor 2y ago
  You're right, I over generalised a bit, it's going to mesh with some better than others.

vasco 2y ago

The funny part is that the importance in taking notes is the physical aspect of the fine motor control associated with writing making it easier for you to remember what you wrote. Even pressing keys on a keyboard eliminates this factor. Edit: Let me get an actual source.. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.... > As traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human brain. Brain electrical activity was recorded in 36 university students as they were handwriting visually presented words using a digital pen and typewriting the words on a keyboard. Connectivity analyses were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning. > Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns that promote learning. We urge that children, from an early age, must be exposed to handwriting activities in school to establish the neuronal connectivity patterns that provide the brain with optimal conditions for learning.

theGeatZhopa 2y ago
Thanks. That's what I also notice by myself. If I want to really learn something, I write and read books. If it's about to get an overview, I read and write digitally. Chances are good, I forget bout this comment in 3..2..1 ... :)