Electronic Notebooks - Any Advice?

[Namo]

Hi FPN friends. I know this is something weird to ask here, I am sorry, but help is needed.

 

As many of you who are lucky enough to work, I do work from home. I teach at college level and everything goes on line and will next semester. I really hate it, and I hate to grade on the computer. I teach philosophy, so I grade written exams of several pages each, about 150 copies for each exam. It's longer than on paper, it kills my eyes, and of course I don't get to use any fp at all. And I hate comptuers (I am using an old Macbook inherited from my late father... I wonder how far it can fly...). I do all my writing except for the final by handwriting. But it is what it is.

 

I am looking for practical solutions so I can grade these exams not on the computer, The obvious way to do it is to print of course and then scan and send back. But I am discovering that something called e-notebooks exist, and some of them can be used to edit, add notes, even read pdf and epub books (I am thinking about the remarkable notebook).

 

Can anyone give any feed back about these kind of devices? I am sorry, I know it not a very precise question, but I really know very little about e-devices in general, and nothing about that kind.

 

Many thanks! any answer is welcome!

[Karmachanic]

Wacom Bamboo, or iPad should do the job. Have the students submit their work as a pdf.

https://www.wacom.com/en-us/discover/capture-ideas/annotation

Edited May 15, 2020 by Karmachanic

[Namo]

Wacom Bamboo, or iPad should do the job. Have the students submit their work as a pdf.

https://www.wacom.com/en-us/discover/capture-ideas/annotation

 

I understand the iPad is a "regular" tablet, so it's a no (eyes). I didn't know something as the WB did exist, so another thing to explore!

 

Thank you!

[Karmachanic]

Poke around on the Wacom site. I'm reasonably sure you'll find a model that fits your needs.

[macaddicted]

I just took delivery of an Onyx Boox Note2, a 10.3” e-ink reader running Android 9. I like it a lot. The built in e-reader app has the ability to make notes on pdf files, though I’ve not tried that yet. I also have a 10.5” iPad Pro and I’ve given up on long reads because my eyes hurt. I’ve read more of Andrew Roberts’ biography of Napoleon in the last two weeks than I’d read in the last two months.

 

From my experience a 10”+ size screen is as small as you should go. That eliminates a lot of the competition. Some e-readers will allow files to scroll vertically while the device is sideways. You can see about half a regular page at a time on an 8” reader. A 13” class reader is about perfect for Letter/A4 markup, but can be very expensive.

 

You should take a look at the forums on mobileread.com. All the big names have groups there. Another is goodereader.com, a blog focused on e-readers.

I went with Onyx because it is open (running Android) and has an active fan base. Another is Boyue’s Likebook, which runs an earlier version of Android. Remarkable, of course, and Sony also sell tablets that could serve you’re needs.

Anyway, good luck with that says the theology student to the philosopher.

[Namo]

Poke around on the Wacom site. I'm reasonably sure you'll find a model that fits your needs.

 

I will, many thanks!

[Namo]

I just took delivery of an Onyx Boox Note2, a 10.3” e-ink reader running Android 9. I like it a lot. The built in e-reader app has the ability to make notes on pdf files, though I’ve not tried that yet. I also have a 10.5” iPad Pro and I’ve given up on long reads because my eyes hurt. I’ve read more of Andrew Roberts’ biography of Napoleon in the last two weeks than I’d read in the last two months.

 

From my experience a 10”+ size screen is as small as you should go. That eliminates a lot of the competition. Some e-readers will allow files to scroll vertically while the device is sideways. You can see about half a regular page at a time on an 8” reader. A 13” class reader is about perfect for Letter/A4 markup, but can be very expensive.

 

You should take a look at the forums on mobileread.com. All the big names have groups there. Another is goodereader.com, a blog focused on e-readers.

 

I went with Onyx because it is open (running Android) and has an active fan base. Another is Boyue’s Likebook, which runs an earlier version of Android. Remarkable, of course, and Sony also sell tablets that could serve you’re needs.

 

Anyway, good luck with that says the theology student to the philosopher.

Very interesting, I'll have a look. Thanks a lot!

[wallylynn]

Here's a bunch of ideas. None are perfect.

 

https://gizmodo.com/tag/e-ink

 

While you research eink, have you adjusted the settings on your tablet /computer? Reducing the brightness has a huge effect. I start at the minimum and increase until comfortable. And increase contrast. Invert colors (white on black). Ancient word processor I used to be white on blue. Dark mode is slowly being available.

 

Tint also helps. I use Flux on my computer

https://justgetflux.com/

[Karmachanic]

In addition to reducing the brightness of your screen it is also possible to change the colour temperature to a warmer tone using f.lux . Makes a big difference

[dapprman]

Ok not going to give you the answer you want to hear and I'm also potentially going to rubbish all the answers above.

 

If eye strain is a concern of yours then you do not want a PC, laptop,tablet or phone as they will all cause eye strain to one level or another. The only real option is an electronic ink reader, such as the Amazon Kindle, however I am not aware of any that allow annotation and forget about doing that on PDF files, it does not work very well when you are able to do so.

 

The Wacom bamboo mentioned above is just a gadget to work with an iPad so you can forget that as well - it did confuse me at firstr as Wacom used to use the Bamboo name for their entry level track pads - I have an A5 ones.

 

If printing out is not an option, and eye strain is an issue, as you infer, then what you need to do is see your optician and get a set of monitor/technical glasses. These are not just plain glass, but do filter out certain frequencies and tend to have anti glare and anti reflection coatings.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I work in IT, my eyes have been ruined by working with screens (even with check ups every one to two years) and I print most things out and write my notes - MS Word and Adobe Acrobat are cr*[p for annotating.

Edited May 16, 2020 by dapprman

[Namo]

Thanks all for all the tips and shared experiences. My mind is set, or very close.

[amberleadavis]

As we have transitioned to online court appearances, I've been watching other attorneys. I've also watched my trial advocacy students and they have a different relationship with technology. They use their ipads instead of printed books and they mark the heck out of PDFs. I ended up buying a Microsoft Surface and Drawboard. I'm still learning.

[Namo]

As we have transitioned to online court appearances, I've been watching other attorneys. I've also watched my trial advocacy students and they have a different relationship with technology. They use their ipads instead of printed books and they mark the heck out of PDFs. I ended up buying a Microsoft Surface and Drawboard. I'm still learning.

I do make use of e-devices actually. There are too many old books out there (such as 16th century translations of More's Utopia) not to. But grading will make my screen time much, much bigger. I hope a e-ink screen will help my eyes.

[tim77]

Ambient lighting has a big effect on eye-strain. If the screen is much brighter, dimmer, or a different colour temperature to the surroundings then your eyes are constantly adapting. Ideally you want a moderate amount of diffuse daylight, combined with a screen which is not too dim. Don't dismiss the ipad - it's better than most.

[Namo]

Ambient lighting has a big effect on eye-strain. If the screen is much brighter, dimmer, or a different colour temperature to the surroundings then your eyes are constantly adapting. Ideally you want a moderate amount of diffuse daylight, combined with a screen which is not too dim. Don't dismiss the ipad - it's better than most.

I will try that for my next batch of exams.

 

For those who might be curious: I bought a remarkable2 device. I understand there are better devices out there and less expensive ones, but it seems to be the right tool for the job, plus I will be able to use it as a e-reader. I am not happy with the fact I have to pay so I can work without putting my health in danger, but it is what it is... Just hoping it will be here on time for the next semester (september shipping).

 

Once again, thank you to everyone who took of his or her time to educate me. I never cease to be amazed by your generosity, and it's so common on this board that one can easily forget how rare it actually is. Du fond du coeur, merci!

[Namo]

(Just saw that Lamy is offering a compatible pen )

[Karmachanic]

Congrats! Here's hoping it works well for you.

[XYZZY]

I hope the model-2 that you've order works out well for you! I remember reading about the reMarkable when it first came out, but then I forgot all about it. Please let us know how things work out.

[Namo]

I hope the model-2 that you've order works out well for you! I remember reading about the reMarkable when it first came out, but then I forgot all about it. Please let us know how things work out.

 

I'll try to remember, for sure.