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Note Taking Tips?

I'm in my first year of university and trying desperately to come up with the best way to take notes on my mac...

I've been looking into notae and yojimbo (I like the tagging features alot, but dislike that I can't put in pictures and such) but have heard good things about journler and devonthink.

The problem with Notae (which I used today) is everything is in SQL databases which is going to make it difficult. Plus most of these apps REQUIRE you to make a new database file rather than a bunch of text files which it will database and collect, etc. I've also heard wiki's are a great way to take notes but have no clue how to do so on my mac.

So please, if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'm sure there are many like me who also would love to know any suggestions for great apps for us Univeristy kids.

terceiro's picture

Re: Note Taking Tips?

I hate to even post here, way down at number 70-something. Still, just in case some really dedicated comment-reader gets down here:

Pay close attention above to Anna Mercurio and gte910h. And head over to Eric Schidt's site. They've got it down.

The point is that notetaking on a computer is a dicey proposition. Yes, you can type faster, but you've got a gigantic DISTRACTION MACHINE staring in your face, not to mention a physical barrier between you and the person speaking (presumably the professor). I hate it when students take notes on laptops. Professors like to see students' faces (except, I gather, in law school. But who wants to be confronted with all those future-lawyers? Yikes) without the interference of a glowing, vertical object.

Whatever program you choose, you will discover a moment when the technology is not equipped to deal with an important piece of information. Perhaps it is a diagram (always tough on a computer) or a complex equation. On paper it's a no-brainer: you just draw it and keep moving. You don't have to think "Oh, crap. What's the command for that?" and never have the problem of forgetting your power cord or having the disk spin up strangely and take all your CPU right when the prof is hitting full speed on her lecture and leaving you to hope you can remember.

So consider this (and I'm only repeating the excellent advice from above): take notes on paper, but store notes electronically. And on paper. Keep both. But the electronic is searchable and retrievable and you can carry around the notes from courses from previous years without burdening yourself with more physical notebooks. Lovely.

There's a cognitive benefit, too. By copying your notes from handwriting to a typed format, you're forced to re-visit the material from the lecture (or the reading: I recommend the same technique for your reading notes, too) which will help you recall the info later. Plus you'll find that a few hours of stewing will make complex information more comprehensible and you'll find those deep, probing questions that profs also love.

I know of what I speak: I'm a PhD student who also teaches.

 
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