During the end of the autumn semester and the start of the 2012 academic calendar students across the UK, USA and the world will be typing frantically at their keyboards writing assignments, reports and dissertations.
But what about note taking in the lecture hall? The majority of students now either own a laptop, smartphone or iPad that allows them to jot information down quickly rather than using the old fashioned paper and pen.
However, note taking even with the most advanced student software still takes time to master and become proficient at. Especially as you have to learn to block out distractions around you and concentrate on the copy taking.
So, here is a quick five-step guide to help students perfect their laptop note-taking skills:
1) Be Concise: Never try to write down the whole conversation or lecture on your device, instead make abbreviations and bullet points. It is important to remember that if you do try to take down everything at first, you are likely to miss the most important information. Furthermore, do not worry about spelling mistakes – you can alter them later.
2) Always be prepared: Putting your laptop into ‘hibernate’ mode means you can be up and running in no time at all at the start of a lecture – rather than powering up from scratch. And making template documents for lectures is also useful. On top of this, spend time getting to grips using shortcut buttons as this will save you valuable time while note taking.
3) Stay Organised: During many lectures or meetings a tutor will refer back to information that they have already discussed either in the same lesson or previous ones, so it is important to keep your documents well organised. Saving files into specific folders and using sub-headings on documents allows you to keep on top of vast amounts of data extremely effectively.
4) Quickly transcribe: Once you have left the lecture hall and you have made your notes it can be easy to think “I’ll transcribe them later tonight or even tomorrow”, unfortunately this sometimes does not happen and information is lost or forgotten. The best advice is to spend 10-15 minutes reading through, transcribing and checking you notes after the lecture to make sure everything is correct – while it’s fresh in your mind.
5) Investment: Finally, it can be worth investing in certain programmes like Microsoft OneNote, which has been specifically designed for pupils and teachers, and is available online with various Microsoft student discount offers.
So, for any new university students wanting to make note taking simpler, keep these five points in mind. And enjoy your studies.