One Tool, Many Uses: How 3 Students Take Notes with Stempad
Created on March 11, 2025
Today, we've invited three university students—Evan, Conner, and Aidan—who each use Stempad in their own way. Evan is an electrical engineering student, Conner studies math, and Aidan is majoring in materials science. We asked them to share their experiences with Stempad and tips for new users!
Why did you start using Stempad?
Evan: "I started using Stempad when I started having to do a lot of circuit diagrams. I got sick of trying to draw them neatly in my notebook. I also lost my ruler sometime during freshman year… so it was hard to draw straight lines."
Conner: "My friends said my handwriting was terrible and my professors had trouble reading the math homework I submitted, so I wanted a tool that didn't make me write things by hand."
Aidan: "I saw one of my friends using Stempad when we were studying together and thought it looked cool!"
Which tools do you use most?
Evan: "I usually use the Circuit and Graph blocks. A lot of my classes make me draw circuit diagrams, as well as my formula racing club. I use the graph block to visualize equations anytime there's math involved. Being able to have these blocks intertwined with my text notes has been a life saver."
Conner: "I mostly use Stempad for the inline math tool. I hated carrying my iPad around and I have terrible handwriting anyway, so being able to type equations and formulas in a readable way is super important to me."
Aidan: "I really like the Chemistry tool. Mat sci has a lot more chemistry than I expected it to, especially for my research lab when I need to make collaborative documents. I also use the Draw tool sometimes. After each of my diagrams I type a small description or a few bulletpoints so I remember what the diagrams are about."
What's your favorite thing about Stempad?
Evan: "I like being able to type my notes. Most of my project work and internship work is done on computers, so being able to also do schoolwork this way is preparing me for the real world."
Conner: "I'm lazy, so I don't want to carry two devices around. Stempad lets me take all my notes on one device instead. My laptop is heavy enough."
Aidan: "I definitely like the collaborative features. It was hard to collaborate on work with my research lab because most regular notetaking apps don't let you share/collaborate on the same document, or if they do, they don't have the tools we need."
Do you use other notetaking tools?
Evan: "I use a traditional pen-and-paper planner as a todo list, but Stempad covers the rest of my needs!"
Conner: "I used to be a loyal iPad notetaker, but it hasn't been too hard to convert to Stempad. The learning curve isn't steep at all and the blocks are pretty straightforward to use."
Aidan: "If I really want to draw something precisely I'll bring my tablet out, but for day-to-day notes I stick to Stempad on my laptop."
Do you have any tips for new users?
Evan: "Check out the learn page before you get started so you know what blocks are available. I didn't take advantage of all the tools at first because I didn't even know they existed."
Conner: "Learn the shortcuts. It's so much faster to take notes now that I can move lines around and modify text so easily. Some of the blocks have their own commands you can learn too."
Aidan: "Take advantage of text formatting tools! It's cool to have a bunch of diagrams, but if you don't remember what they're for it's pointless. When I first started using Stempad I was excited to use all the cool blocks but my notes were all over the place."
Conclusion
Stempad isn't just a note-taking tool—it's a flexible workspace that adapts to different study styles and academic needs. Whether it's streamlining circuit diagrams, typing out math equations, or collaborating on chemistry research notes, each student has found a way to make Stempad work for them. No matter your major, Stempad can help you improve your workflow.