WHY AN E-LAB-BOOK
Posted 3 years, 5 months ago at 12:58 pm.
3 comments
I moved from a notebook PC to a tablet PC a couple years ago when I started my Biochemistry Masters program.
I had an electrovaya SC-2100 and used Onenote.
Great for taking chemistry class notes (and pretty much for everything).
Then as I worked more in the Lab I realized my needs changed.
I moved to a smaller tablet PC – the OQO 01+
I can keep it in my lab coat pocket (although I usually don’t), but the big advantage is it takes up less counter space.
BENEFITS OF AN E-LAB-BOOK
-Every entry is automatically time/date stamped in Onenote
-TEMPLATES – I make templates for protocols that I use repeatedly in the lab.
-Always have a super calculator – with excel I have spreadsheets set up to calculate things quickly and easily. example (my RNA calculator based on spectraphotometer absorbance)
-Research is always with me – Since I use my OQO for many other things (media player, e-books, etc.), I can always check out my research (if I’m really bored).
-Data Backup – all my research data at my fingertips, with easy backup
POSSIBLE FUTURE BENEFITS
-Management – if everyone was using an e-Lab-book that was uploaded each day a PI (Principal Investigator) could easily check progress of all projects in the lab.
-Scheduling – above just using Onenote, scheduling software could be used so as to never have annoying equipment use conflicts.
I’m sure there’s more, leave comments with ideas. I’ll update this post ever so often.
Thanks for setting up this site – this is a great application area for tablets and handtops that hasn’t really been explored to the point that it should.
A camera would sometimes be nice in the lab — maybe the Sony UX would be better? Lab pockets are pretty big, it would still fit
It seems like a OneNote shared notebook would be sufficient for checking up on progress… If everyone on my projects did that it would make collaboration and keeping up with the status so much easier.
I forgot about the utility of a built in camera, a camera in the lab is definitely a plus.
Also, have you seen this?
http://www.smallscalechemistry.colostate.edu/labtop/labtop_L.wmv
He does a lot of work right on top of the tablet… gotta have a good screen protector though.