Note-taking Summary

Throughout this inquiry I tried a number of different methods of taking notes, both at school and while coaching. Overall, this inquiry was helpful for me because it allowed me to explore something that I typically don’t put much thought into. During the inquiry process I tried using electronic notes in multiple forms and expanding my handwritten notes by the inclusion of visuals/pictures to enhance meaning. I very quickly came to realize that electronic notes were not effective for me in the school setting because I found I would easily get distracted by other things on my computer. Handwritten notes with some drawings seemed to work best as I felt like I retained more information and the pictures allowed me to get a quick idea of what was on each page of notes. When it came to coaching I had the opposite opinion, electronic notes seemed to be more effective for me. I think the reason for this is because it allowed me to store all of the practice plans in one area and I was able to quickly add notes on the go to these practice plans for which drills or skills we wanted to revisit. As I continue on with coaching I will be able to refer back to my electronic notes to add and adapt practice plans as needed for the new team.

Hilary

Sketchnotes

Multimedia Learning Theory: Sketchnoting

•  Studies shows those who write their notes longhand score better at conceptual information compared to those who type notes (this increases when the written notes include drawings)
• Laptop note takers remember less because they are just transcribing everything, they know they can come back to the information (process content at a shallower level)
• Written note takers must summarize the information which allows them to process and reframe the content, creating greater depth in understanding

In class, we read through an article and were asked to practice sketchnoting for an article (see below). The process that worked best for me was to read through the article highlighting the important information, then I came up with a plan in my head and started my sketchnotes. I would refer back to the article for prompts when needed.

I think sketchnotes would work really well for me in terms of retaining and understanding the information from a presentation but I think it would take a lot of practice to get comfortable with the process. I also think it would be very challenging to make sense of sketchnotes when I didn’t have time to see all of the information and think of a plan ahead of time. I’m interested to put these sketchnotes to action for my open inquiry.

 

-Hilary

Notes on Powerpoint

I’ve been fairly inactive on my inquiry topics over the past month but I’m back and ready to share more of my journey with you!

Last week I decided I was going to use my computer to take notes in class. Our instructor for ED-D 301 Learners & Learning Environments uploads her PowerPoint before each lecture, and in these documents she includes both her talking points and additional notes. I thought this was the perfect class to try out note-taking on my computer as I would be able to add any additional information to what was already there, rather than spending my time copying what was on the screen.

During this class I found that I was spending less time writing notes because I was only adding the extra thoughts or comments that were made. Originally, I thought this would be a positive but I began to realize that I wasn’t fully taking in the information on the slides because I didn’t ‘need’ to read them. I also found that having a computer open on my desk was an easy distraction, during times of lower engagement in class I would automatically check my emails or start doing other small tasks. This quickly took my focus away from the lecture and I was no longer engaged in the content that we were learning.

Overall, I learned that taking notes on a computer is not the best method for me at this time. I need something that has minimal distractions and repetition of information so that I am able to retain what is being taught. Maybe one day I will be able to teach myself how to take electronic notes effectively.

-Hilary

Notetaking with Skitch!

Hey everyone,

This week we were asked to complete a tech tool review and blog about it. I chose Skitch as my tech tool so that I could include it in my open inquiry of note-taking. Skitch is an app that uses annotations, shapes and drawings to get ideas across more quickly. This app was developed by Evernote, another app used for note-taking, and I think the two would work quite well together. I may be using Evernote as my next note-taking strategy.

I decided to use Skitch as a review tool for my notes after our volleyball team had their first exhibition game. I found it very helpful as I was able to make the page bigger and expand on the thoughts I had during the game. I found that the contrast between my writing and the electronic annotations allowed me to highlight the main points I wanted to focus on in practice moving forward. I was also able to blur out names, which was great because now I’m able to post a screenshot of my work while maintaining confidentiality.

I wasn’t able to find many hashtags through the social media platforms I looked at, LinkedIn and Twitter. My main critique of the app was that it was challenging to use on my phone screen, I think it would be much more effective if I go the app for my computer.

I think Skitch would be a useful tool in the classroom when getting students to review electronic pieces of work. They would be able to add notes, underline important information, and add symbols beside areas they really enjoyed. It could also be used to describe what’s happening in a screenshot of a video game.

Overall, I think the Skitch could be useful but it may take some practice to really figure it out. You may see me using this again throughout my note-taking inquiry.

See the link below if you want to check it out!

https://evernote.com/products/skitch

Cheers,

Hilary Graham

Open Inquiry

Hi everyone!

After meeting with my instructor yesterday I was able to piece together some ideas and rearrange my inquiries for EDCI 336. I have changed my open inquiry and you can now follow my path to learning Spanish through the Duolingo app on my tech inquiry posts.

My new open inquiry will be about note-taking in the classroom. I found that I never really learned an effective way to take notes, I tried using some different methods like electronic notes or using colour but I still find them to be quite disorganized. Through this process I’m hoping to find and try some new methods and in the end find one that works well for me! I think this inquiry will transfer skills over to being a teacher as I will be learning more about differentiated learning by searching for a note-taking form that works best for me as an individual.

I am still working on refining my inquiry question and defining a plan to work through it but here it is for now. What are some different ways/forms of note-taking and which form works best for me?

My plan to work through this includes researching different forms of note-taking, trying a number of different forms while in class, reviewing what is working well, refining the forms of notes I am using, and finally determining which style of notes worked best for me. This is still a loose plan but I hope to develop it more over the next week!

Talk to you next week.

Hilary

 

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Open Inquiry

Hey there!

For my EDCI 336 course Assignment 1 we are to come up with a topic for our passion-based open inquiry project. After some thought I realized that this is a great opportunity to finally learn something that I have been putting off for a number of years. While travelling to Central America I knew a few words that helped me get by but I couldn’t help thinking how much having conversational Spanish would change my experience. This project will provide me with a timeline to follow while learning more about the Spanish language.

For my open inquiry I will be teaching myself Spanish using the app Duolingo with the goal of increasing my conversational Spanish by the beginning of December.

Check back each week for updates on my journey!

Hilary