I've been practicing my laptop note taking skills for a few weeks as I prepare for medical school. I had many issues losing notes, overloading on paper notes, etc. during undergrad and want something better organized and integrated with my digital files like PDF, Excel, etc. I have had extremely promising results so far using the Wacom Pen and Microsoft OneNote from Office 2010. I am unsure why you are unable to input text with your device. In OneNote you have a variety of options for inputing text:
1) Write it with the tablet as you go, after class (or during I guess) select your written notes and ask OneNote to convert to text. This works decently, but will require some corrections with the keyboard, unless you have particularly good penmanship.
2). Use the laptop keyboard to type on the screen. You will find in the "Draw" ribbon a "Select and Type" cursor option. Use this to click somewhere on the screen and begin typing. I have found this to be the most promising during practice. To be clear, I have been practicing by watching videos of old lectures while taking notes (don't make fun of me please). My main issue is that switching between tablet and keyboard is a bit counter intuitive. I find myself writing a lot more by hand because I forget to switch back to the keyboard, but hopefully I will become more comfortable. I also find the configuration of my laptop on the desk and tablet in my lap to be the most space efficient and comfortable. With a smaller laptop, this would most likely work in a lecture hall seat with a folding note plank.
3). Use the Windows 7 onscreen keyboard. This is an option that can be enabled when you install a tablet device. Basically, there is a way to bring up an onscreen keyboard built into Windows 7 which runs through the OS and will work with any software you choose--assuming that software accepts keyboard input.
Robbie
