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Problem: One of the most challenging and frustrating parts of taking notes on a computer is trying to integrate diagrams or drawings from class into notes in a text editor. Sometimes a particular chart or graph is essential to the understanding of the notes, so the difficulty causes many note takers to stick with paper and pen instead of dealing with this issue. One interviewee used a highly efficient text editor (vim) to take notes, but found it difficult to incorporate drawings, often resorting to using his cellphone camera to take a picture of the board, or skipping the diagram entirely. The others mentioned the difficulty of drawing diagrams (such as molecule shapes) as a reason for using pen and paper instead of computer software.
Why is the task being done?
In order to make computerized note-taking feasible, the user must be able to easily record the diagrams that are being shown on slides or drawn on the chalkboard. Often the diagrams convey information (relationships, physical structure, etc) that cannot easily be recorded purely textually.
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What is the environment like?
The environment is a classroom - quiet: quiet; sometimes stressful, depending on the speed of lecture and difficulty of material.
How often is the task performed?
The task in general is performed daily throughout a semester. In finer detail, users will insert and draw diagrams multiple times in most lectures, and will generally have multiple lectures per day. All 3 of the students interviewed cited the frequency of drawing diagrams as a reason against taking notes on computers with current software, as it was too tedious.
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