Handwritten notes can make us smarter. This conclusion was made by scientists from Princeton University. If you write your notes by hand, you will not physically be able to write down everything the lecturer says or everything in the textbook. But handwritten notes require active brain work, which means that you will remember almost everything that you write down. Notes made on a computer or tablet are also good, but less effective. How long ago did you take notes when studying something? What about learning programming? In this text, at the request of our users, we will outline the main note-taking methods that have proven themselves well, as well as recall several note-taking applications.
Useful abstract rules
To begin with, here are a few rules for taking notes. They will be useful regardless of the note-taking method you choose:
Write down only the essentials: details that are not important can be left out.
Use hierarchy in the text: headings, subheadings, lists.
Try to put what you have learned into your own words.
Abbreviate the most common words (for this you need to develop a system of abbreviations that you will understand and that you will not forget in a day).
What are the note-taking methods?
Cornell Method
It is a note-taking system developed in the 1940s by Walter Poke, a professor at Cornell University.
The student divides the page into two columns: the abstract column (usually on the right) occupies 2/3 of the page, on the left 1/3 is the column for questions and keywords. At the bottom of the page, you must leave five to seven lines, or about 5-6 centimeters.
Recordings made during a lecture or working with a text are written in the column on the right. Usually these are the main ideas of the text or lecture.
In the left column, questions on the topic, keywords or plan are written. You can also write down questions that are not answered in the textbook or during the lecture.
The bottom of the page is used to summarize and summarize the topic. As a rule, this requires several sentences, if the topic is not very extensive.
Why is this method good?
The Cornell method helps to structure information and quickly find it in the abstract.
Schematic method
The structure of the abstract in this method is a list with several levels of nesting. Above - the main, below in structure - branching from topics to subtopics. Thus, we get a branched “tree” of lists. Be careful not to overdo it with the number of levels, otherwise you yourself will get confused in your notes.
Why is this method good?
Even before recording, you will analyze the topic of the abstract and highlight the more and less important. Determining the level of importance helps you better understand new information.
Suggestion Method
Can show that this is an ordinary summary: information is written down in turn, depending on what is heard and read. But there is a difference: each new sentence is written on a new line and numbered. Although linear, this allows you to establish links between different parts of the text. Numbering is needed in order to quickly refer to a part of the abstract without rewriting, simply by indicating the sentence number.
Why is this method good?
This method is suitable for note-taking of textbooks and texts. In addition, it helps to highlight only the most important: after all, just rewriting a book can take a very long time (and who needs it?).
Mind map method
A feature of this method is the presentation of information in the form of a tree diagram. The roots of the tree are the main idea, theory, theme. Branches depart from the roots - terms, concepts, details of the main topic.
Why is this method good?
This method is especially suitable for those who perceive information visually: thanks to memorable cards, new information will be better remembered, and the relationship between concepts and elements of the topic will be more understandable.
Flow (or flow) method
This is the note-taking method formulated by coach Scott Young . It is based on this idea: listening to a lecture is not a passive process, in order to really benefit from a lecture, you need to think and develop your own ideas. Therefore, in a summary made in this way, you should write down only the key points of the lecture and give free rein to your comments. This is the most creative method of taking notes, because information can be recorded in any form: in the form of mind maps, abstracts, lists, or all at once. Anything that helps you understand and remember information is welcome here.
Why is this method good?
A great method to understand and remember information right away (rather than writing it down to learn later). But it will not work in cases where you need to write down and remember all the details of the above. It is not always possible to keep a handwritten note. In addition, the advantage of a digital abstract is that it is easy to share with other people. And, in general, you can simply prefer electronic notes, because it is convenient. The next section of the article is for those who want to take notes on a computer, tablet or phone.
Note-taking tools
If you choose not to take handwritten notes, there are plenty of tools and apps to help you.
Design issues may be secondary, or they may allow you to systematize what you have written and better remember the content of the lecture. To do this, you can use the outline designer from Canva. The service contains more than 20 professional chart types and templates designed by professional designers that will simplify your work. This service, like other offers from Canva, is free, but requires registration.
An application that allows you to process notes in almost any format. You can add text notes, audio, images, PDF documents, scanned handwritten pages, Slack conversations, emails, websites. Evernote is designed to make it easy to sort and organize your notes. Your notes are automatically synced across all your devices. You can also create tasks in the app so you don't miss out on anything important on your to-do list. Tasks can be put into context—along with ideas, meeting notes, and important documents—or they can be gathered together in a starter note and sorted later.
An application that provides components such as databases, kanban boards, wikis, calendars, and reminders. Users can plug in these components to build their own knowledge management, note-taking, data management, project management, and more. These components and systems can be used individually or in combination with others.
The OneNote workspace is a blank sheet where you can take text and handwritten notes, drawings, and record voice comments anywhere. You can also drag and drop information in OneNote from the browser window. This program does not have a "Save" icon, as the entered data is saved automatically. Sheets are combined into sections, and sections are combined into notebooks. The list of sheets in a section is to the right of the current sheet, the list of sections is at the top, and the list of open notebooks is on the left. Recordings made can be sent by email as in HTML format, or as an attached OneNote file. Do you take notes on programming theory? Does it help you understand or remember the material better? Share your opinion in the comments.
This is the most creative method of taking notes, because information can be recorded in any form: in the form of mind maps, abstracts, lists, or all at once. Anything that helps you understand and remember information is welcome here.
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