Smart Pens are nice... I have a Livescribe Echo 8G that I got used for ~100. With it, I can both record the lecturer and write some notes, and the pen syncs the writing with the audio. So for the instructor that talks a lot but doesn't put much on the Powerpoint, you can just write down the slide number and title, leave a space, and then later you can fill in the blanks with what she said.
Obviously that's a bit expensive for a pen, and you do have to get special paper for it, but for me it's really worth it... Especially when the instructor is doing a review session for the upcoming exam. Even if I miss writing down something, I've got the audio.
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