SETENTS: Scott, Elizabeth, & Tommy's Excellent Note-Taking Software
Group Members
- Scott Bezek, sbezek@mit.edu
- Elizabeth Hawkins, elhawk@mit.edu
- Thomas Garver, tgarv@mit.edu
- TA:
Problem Statement
Nobody likes carrying paper around, but taking notes on your computer does not allow you as much freedom. There is an inherent disconnect between the free-form notes that a professor may draw on a chalkboard and the rigid structure that typical word-processing applications require. Although computers can be much faster when taking textual notes, incorporating diagrams and writing up equations is not a seamless task in any software that we know of, and it can be especially tedious on devices that lack a touch interface. This fact makes note-taking on computers unpleasant or infeasible using the software currently available.
However, computers can provide a number of benefits that are not available with pen & paper. For instance: notes can be instantly searched, they can be archived and shared easily, it's possible to include rich media such as pictures, videos, and web links directly within the notes, and more. Therefore, our aim is to provide a clean and efficient user interface that will make note-taking on a computer just as simple as taking notes on paper, while harnessing the additional capabilities provided by a digital medium.
2 Comments
Victor J Wang
gr4
"Usability: Not clear if recording on page with existing video will overwrite. Great feature to have synchronized text follow and video playback. Like the affordances.
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Victor J Wang
Although the project topic itself can't be considered a stretch, the designs you explored certainly are. Rather than worry about the technical feasibility of your idea, I commend your approach to design something from the perspective of the user in an ideal usability scenario. Although this did provide challenges when implementing the backend, I think it goes without saying that it was worth it since much of the usability feedback was positive. Well done!