3 ms·

If you are a bad student then every single teacher is bad. btw, laptop for notes is a joke. A pen+paper is way more effective, cheaper and usable.

by jorgec 9y ago

dragontamer 9y ago
Only if you know how to use a pen+paper. I didn't learn how to use pen+paper for notekeeping till I was a professional, way out of college. My digital note skills were superior when I was in college (just a simple collection of notes I typed up every now and then during lectures). Honestly, today's student should do the following: 1. Take pictures of the damn blackboard. Way easier than copying. Cellphones are cheap, everyone has a camera (even if the camera is of shoddy quality, it should work indoors in a lecture hall). 2. "Stream" notes in some format. It doesn't matter what your "streaming" note format is. It was computer keyboard for me, but today I can "stream" notes faster in pen / paper. 3. The most important step: Rewrite your notes into a better organization. "Streamed" notes have low density and poor value for studying. The importance of "streaming" notes is to have a comprehensive outline of the professor's major points. Many professors provide subtle hints about what the tests are going to look like, so comprehensive note taking is the key to picking up on these hints. "Organized" notes require conscious effort that takes too long during a lecture (or meeting, or anything really). 4. Ask questions -- Seriously. Professors make mistakes sometimes, but more commonly, the student's brain moves a bit slower as its learning from a lecture. If something smells "fishy", raise your hand and politely ask the professor to explain it better. Most professors are just happy someone is even listening to them, and often will comprehensively answer your question. Win/win for everybody. ------------------- With regards to "secret note taking skills", its really the split between "streaming" notes and "organized" notes. Heck, keep two notebooks for every subject. (Or really, just one "streaming" notebook which you copy into "organized" pages elsewhere). You really should keep the steps separate.

If you are a bad student then every single teacher is bad. btw, laptop for notes is a joke. A pen+paper is way more effective, cheaper and usable.

by jorgec 9y ago

If you are a bad student then every single teacher is bad. btw, laptop for notes is a joke. A pen+paper is way more effective, cheaper and usable.

dragontamer 9y ago

Only if you know how to use a pen+paper. I didn't learn how to use pen+paper for notekeeping till I was a professional, way out of college. My digital note skills were superior when I was in college (just a simple collection of notes I typed up every now and then during lectures). Honestly, today's student should do the following: 1. Take pictures of the damn blackboard. Way easier than copying. Cellphones are cheap, everyone has a camera (even if the camera is of shoddy quality, it should work indoors in a lecture hall). 2. "Stream" notes in some format. It doesn't matter what your "streaming" note format is. It was computer keyboard for me, but today I can "stream" notes faster in pen / paper. 3. The most important step: Rewrite your notes into a better organization. "Streamed" notes have low density and poor value for studying. The importance of "streaming" notes is to have a comprehensive outline of the professor's major points. Many professors provide subtle hints about what the tests are going to look like, so comprehensive note taking is the key to picking up on these hints. "Organized" notes require conscious effort that takes too long during a lecture (or meeting, or anything really). 4. Ask questions -- Seriously. Professors make mistakes sometimes, but more commonly, the student's brain moves a bit slower as its learning from a lecture. If something smells "fishy", raise your hand and politely ask the professor to explain it better. Most professors are just happy someone is even listening to them, and often will comprehensively answer your question. Win/win for everybody. ------------------- With regards to "secret note taking skills", its really the split between "streaming" notes and "organized" notes. Heck, keep two notebooks for every subject. (Or really, just one "streaming" notebook which you copy into "organized" pages elsewhere). You really should keep the steps separate.