Tech Tip: Take Notes Like a Rock Star
TECH TIP TAKE NOTES LIKE A ROCK STAR
TECH TIP TAKE NOTES LIKE A ROCK STAR
Studies have shown that people remember only half of what they hear, which is a major reason to take lecture notes. Solid note taking will help you distill key concepts and make it easier to study for tests. So why not take your note-taking skills up a notch?
1 THE PROBLEM
You don’t know how to make your digital lecture notes leap off the screen and engrave themselves on your brain.
2 THE FIX
Clue into the many ways you can use basic programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to sharpen your note-taking skill set.
3 HOW TO DO IT
Word is great for taking notes in most classes. To highlight main ideas, you can bold or underline text. You can change the font size and color, highlight whole swaths of text, and insert text boxes or charts. You can make bullet points or properly formatted outlines and insert comment bubbles for emphasis. You can cut and paste material as you review your notes to make things more coherent. You can also create different folders for each of your classes so that you can find everything you need with one click. (Note: It’s worth playing around on the toolbar until you get it all down pat.)
Excel is especially good for economics and accounting courses or for any class that involves making scientific calculations or financial statements. You can embed messages inside the cells of a spreadsheet to explain calculations. The notes will magically appear whenever you use your cursor to hover over that cell.
PowerPoint can be an invaluable tool for visual learners. Instead of keeping your notes in one giant, potentially confusing Word document, you can open up a PowerPoint slideshow and type right into it. That way, every time your instructor changes gears, you can open a new slide. It’s a nice way to break up the material. Some instructors post the PowerPoint slides that they plan to use in class a few hours in advance. Print them out and take them with you as note-taking tools; you can even write notes on the slides themselves or download them and add your notes in PowerPoint.
CLEVER TRICKS
Date your notes. Focus on writing down the main points (the material your professor emphasizes or repeats), using phrases or key words instead of long sentences. Keep all your notes in order and in one place. Back up everything. If you’re not a tech whiz, keep a pen and paper handy for sketching graphs and diagrams. Label your notes clearly to make it easy to look things up. If you find yourself struggling to keep up, practice your listening and typing skills.
PERSONAL BEST
What concrete steps could you take to create an organized note-taking system for the semester? Start by picking a note-taking style that appeals to you. If you love a chart or spreadsheet, Excel is your kind of program. If you’re an old-school type who loves nothing better than a spiral notebook and a ballpoint pen, that’s OK, too.