Nov 01, 2010 · A laptop or tablet computer and a word processing program are all you need for basic digital note taking. But there are tools that can make your life easier. If you're taking …
1. Take Notes On All Course Content When taking notes for an online class, be sure to take notes on all course material, including posted video lectures, PowerPoints, readings, and posted …
It is taught via four main 'Super Simple Rules' with activities, quizzes, and dictations throughout. There are also tons of downloadable materials in the form of worksheets, dictionaries, and PDFs. Unlike traditional shorthand methods, there isn't a whole new language to learn. My digital note-taking method uses the alphabet - which you already know if you're reading this!
Online course takers - taking notes improves understanding and memory. It's too easy to just watch/listen to a course and not be actively involved. The act of jotting down important points really helps with learning.
The ability to take notes quickly and accurately is a valuable skill. It's brilliant for journalists and students, of course, but it is also a huge bonus to anyone who enjoys studying online courses, attending webinars, or just jotting down ideas. It is also a vital skill for professionals who need to take instructions from clients. It makes the workload easier and the stress lighter.
While traditional shorthand takes many, many hours to learn, this course in electronic shorthand will take you just couple of hours of study and practice to become comfortable with the system. Then it's just of matter of adding to your own personal abbreviations dictionary (included in the course) and building your speed naturally as you use your new skill.
My first system - created to prevent Angela's nervous breakdown - wasn't perfect but it enabled her to type quickly and produce comprehensive meeting notes without it taking up her whole day. It eased her stress and saved her job.
The ability to take notes quickly and accurately is a valuable skill . It's brilliant for journalists and students, of course, but it is also a huge bonus to anyone who enjoys studying online courses, attending webinars, or just jotting down ideas.
Simplenote is an easy-to-use, free program that is designed specifically for taking notes. As its name implies, it is a very basic program intended for text storage only.
If you notice while watching or listening to lectures, reviewing PowerPoints, or reviewing posted course materials, that your professor has mentioned the same fact twice or more, or has repeated a fact that was talked about in the previous lecture, make a note to yourself.
Evernote is one of the more popular note-taking programs. This software must be purchased and can be used with Windows, MAC, Android or iOS devices. It is a catchall for your notes; whether they are handwritten or typed, it can store them.
Microsoft OneNote is an easy to use program - and it's free! OneNote is part of Microsoft Office and built to interact with Word and Excel. It's also available as an app for Android or iOS phones and the Web.
Before I talk about taking notes, I want to briefly cover a few classroom habits that will make a big difference to the quality of your notes. (Scroll down if these don’t apply to you).
It amazes me how many students skip class. Many think class just covers the same material they read in their textbook and others simply don’t care. Here’s the truth: most professors can predict which students will fail the class simply by attendance.
Professors like to say that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Not true. A stupid question is the one where the answer is in the textbook that you should have read before class.
This is your low hanging fruit. It gives you the biggest benefit for zero effort.
I sat in the back of a class a few times recently just to see what was going on back there. I suspected there’d be a lot of distraction, and wow, was I right.
Taking good class notes is one of the most important things you can do. More likely than not they will be the source of most of your exam questions. You want to make sure you have a consistent method of taking them.
Ok, so you’ve taken a complete set of notes. Now it’s time to make them ready for self testing.
Tags help you find existing notes. They can narrow down what you see in a particular folder or show you all notes tagged with a common theme across multiple folders. They also help you find notes that pertain to some theme even if the thematic word doesn't appear in the note itself. Let me give some examples.
Any well-used note-taking app has folders that see more action than others. Make those folders easy to reach by creating shortcuts to them or marking them as favorites. These are the folders in which you frequently look at notes you've made and add new ones.
When you organize your note-taking experience, you improve your chances of not just taking more relevant notes, but also storing them in a way that lets you revisit them when it's time .
Most smartphones have a speech-to-text function. Use it! Start a new note, press the microphone icon on the keyboard, and speak whatever you want to write down. Alternatively, you can record a voice memo and transcribe it later. If you get into the habit and end up frequently dictating long passages, you may want to use a transcription service to save yourself some time. There are many good free and paid options available, though the paid options tend to be considerably more accurate.
If your app has OCR, it can search the text found in images , PDFs, and other files you upload to it. Don't be shy to add files to your notes when you need them. That includes snapping photos of informational signs, handwritten notes, pages of books, and so forth. You can see how it's useful through an example.
When you go paperless, taking notes is easy, but knowing what to do with them is hard. Learn how to organize and store your digital notes in a way that makes them useful.
The note-taking app you choose heavily influences whether and how you'll ever see your notes again. The basic note-taking app that came preinstalled on your phone or tablet probably isn't very good. Sure, you've used it before, and it works fine, but maybe you don't know what features you're missing that separate merely satisfactory apps from excellent ones.
Use the main notes section to take notes during class. Use the cues section to review your notes. After class, write down things you’ll need to remember and a prompt for each. You can also use this section for vocabulary words and study questions. In the summary segment at the bottom, write a summary of your notes.
The Outlining note taking method uses headings and bullet points to organize topics. This method is most useful when learning about topics that include a lot of detail.
The page is organized by topic. The main topics branch out into subtopics with detailed information about each.
Better notes will help you remember concepts, develop meaningful learning skills, and gain a better understanding of a topic. Effective notes will even lead to less stress when test time comes around!
If your in-class notes are messy, unorganized, and unclear at first glance, you’re not going to get much use out of them. This has nothing to do with how neat your handwriting is — it’s all about how your notes are structured. One of the most effective ways to remember (and understand) what you are learning in class is to take effective notes in ...
Learning how to take better study notes in class helps improve recall and understanding of what you are learning because it:
Place the first subtopic below and indented slightly to the right.
When taking your outline notes, start by choosing four or five key points that will be covered in your lecture. Beneath those points write some more in-depth sub-points about each topic as the professor covers them.
With a proper productivity system, nothing ever slips through the cracks. In just one hour , you'll learn how to set up your to-do list, calendar, note-taking system, file management, and more — the smart way.
Jot down topics, draw arrows, make little doodles and diagrams and graphs. Go crazy. Engage with the material. Try to actively learn as you’re writing.
The point of flow notes is to treat yourself like the student you are, and not a lecture-transcribing machine.
Attitude is everything. Quick tip: If you notice during class that your professor has mentioned the same fact twice or more, or has repeated a fact that was talked about in the previous lecture, make a note to yourself. Circle it, underline it, something to tell your brain to pay attention.
In this method, you divide your paper into three sections: notes, cues, and summary. Your notes section is for the notes you take during class. You can structure them however you like, but most people like to use the outline method. Write your cues section either during or directly after class.
Avoid high-salt or high-sugar options, and aim for a “complete snack” that includes fat, protein, and carbs. Apples and peanut butter, crackers and cheese, or even certain power bars are good options .
By underlining and using CAPITALS, it's easier to identify key points in your lecture notes.
Reading through your notes helps to solidify your knowledge, and typing them up is the perfect way to make sure you understand everything. This method also makes it a lot easier to read through your notes when you come back to revise, and reduces the chance of you losing them among a pile of magazines somewhere.
100% lecture attendance means nothing if you spend the duration deciding what to have for dinner.
By staying focused in lectures, you'll feel better knowing that you don't have so much to catch up on later. A coffee before class might work for some, but you should always make sure you're feeding yourself the right brain fuel to keep you going.
Not only is attempting to get everything down on paper pretty much impossible, but it also means you won't really be listening to what's being said or giving it time to sink in.
You can re-live the fun and listen to your lecturer's dulcet tones later on, making more notes in your own time instead of trying to multitask during class.
If you're a slow writer or struggle a bit with taking notes, using a dictaphone to record lectures is a good back-up in case you're worried about missing anything. You can re-live the fun and listen to your lecturer's dulcet tones later on, making more notes in your own time instead of trying to multitask during class.
The first step to taking good notes in class is to come to class prepared. Here are some steps you can take to improve your note-taking before class even begins: 1 Preview your text or reading assignments prior to lecture. Previewing allows you to identify main ideas and concepts that will most likely be discussed during the lecture. 2 Look at your course syllabus so that you know the topic/focus of the class and what’s going to be important to focus on. 3 Briefly review notes from previous class sessions to help you situate the new ideas you’ll learn in this class. 4 Keep organized to help you find information more easily later. Title your page with the class name and date. Keep separate notebook sections or notebooks for each class and keep all notes for each class together in one space, in chronological order.
Reviewing your notes: Write a summary of your notes in your own words, write questions about your notes, fill in areas, or chunk them into categories or sections.
If you are learning factual information, transcribing most of the lecture verbatim can help with recall for short-answer test questions, but only if you study these notes within 24 hours.
After class, good notes are crucial for reviewing and studying class material so that you better understand it and can prepare appropriately for exams. Efficient and concise notes can save you time, energy, and confusion that often results from trying to make sense of disorganized, overwhelming, insufficient, or wordy notes. When watching a video, taking good notes can save you from the hassle of pausing, rewinding, and rewatching large chunks of a lecture. Good notes can provide a great resource for creating outlines and studying.
1. Cornell Notes: This style includes sections for the date, essential question, topic, notes, questions, and a summary. Check out this link for more explanation.
Preview your text or reading assignments prior to lecture. Previewing allows you to identify main ideas and concepts that will most likely be discussed during the lecture.
Part of good note-taking may include going back to your notes after class (ideally within a day or two) to check for clarity and fill in any missing pieces. In fact, doing so can help you better organize your thoughts and to determine what’s most important. With that in mind, it’s important to have good source material.
Personal Development with Notion: Productivity, Habits, Goals, and more!
Inspiration for your note taking journey is waiting. As you explore these Skillshare online classes, you’ll learn about a wide variety of tools, techniques, software, and topics, including how to study, how to journal, and more.