Students, Draw Without Paper!

Do you remember that scene where Elle Woods is at her first Harvard lecture and everybody but her has a laptop to take notes? That is today’s college reality, laptop is one of the most important tools for most students, not only during, but also after classes, when they do library research, write papers, keep track of future assignments and exams, or communicate with friends and family.

As much as I think it works for many classes, there are some instances where students still use old fashioned pen and paper when they have to redraw something quickly from the board before the teacher moves on to another topic. When they get back after classes, they scan the drawings to attach to the notes they store digitally, or take the time to recreate them using one of the applications installed for that very purpose.

What if there was a simpler, quicker way to deal with all kinds of drawings, something that could be used in and out of classroom? Enter drawing tablets. Imagine a full room of students taking down notes during an important lecture, when the professor decides to illustrate his point with a rather complicated drawing. Instead of making noise searching for paper and all those pencils that get lost at the bottom of the bag, the students quietly plug their pen tablets into the laptops, quickly copy the drawing which is saved on the computer right away, and move on.

Students of more creative majors will find the drawing tablets even more useful, as they will be able to use them for their in-class work, for example drawing a quick design in the clothes construction class, or plant arrangement plan in the landscape architecture course. And outside of the classroom, how much easier does redrawing something quickly from a library book sound, than waiting in line to copy it, not to mention how much better for the wallet.  

For those being sceptic about carrying additional equipment to classes, let me say this. Nowadays drawing tablets" come in different screen size and also different thickness. You can certainly find one that will not add more weight to your backpack than that thick paper notebook you’re used to. Additionally, for environment conscious young people, I would think not using paper would be another benefit of switching to pen tablets.

Also, for all those thinking that buying another gadget just for school is not really worth it, consider that pen tablets can be just as also used for fun. If you like instant input for your graphic novel, draw it on a tablet and e-mail it to your reviewers right away. If your mother always reminds everybody what a cute card you made her for Mother’s Day in first grade, make her a digital and handmade card in one right away. And if you feel that motivational letters you’ll be e-mailing soon are not personable, change that by signing your name with the graphics tablet" stylus.