Notetaking

Note taking. What an interesting thing to think about. How DID I learn to take notes? I remember outlining. It was fascinating. Roman numerals. Capital letters and small letters. The nuns knowing what was absolutely right and absolutely wrong. No grey areas. But we used this to outline information we were handed, not information we found or notes from a lecture.
I like notes. Like them more and more as my memory disappears. What do I do now? Well today I had a meeting to attend, so I grabbed a spiral notebook and put it into the bag with my laptop. Why? Old habit. Fear of no wireless system.
So that is where to put the notes. Now, what to write down. I am a great wool gatherer. I don’t concentrate well. So I often doodle—actually I doodle a lot. My pages of notes in spiral notebooks are works of art, or very complete shopping lists, or a combo. I also like to knit at meetings. That is my favorite way of concentrating and for me it works. But I worry that it is perceived as disrespectful by the presenter.
Notes. Back to content. I like to take notes on an agenda or skeletal sheet. Nice to know I am not missing the backbone of the presentation. I like to add color (even just a combination of pen and pencil) and underlining—visual attention grabbers for ME—things that might make an impact just for me. A lot of time there is something I need to do or have some personal interaction with, so I write it and highlight on my notes.
So I don’t really know how to teach today’s student how to take notes. But it has been interesting to think about….