EverNote (pictured above) is the tool I use to take notes.
As an older student who did not grow up with the technology millennials take for granted, I find that I’m still getting used to staring at screens to read and take notes. It just does not come naturally to me. As I mentioned in one of my reflection papers earlier in this course, I prefer to read paper copies of the course material and I prefer to take notes on paper in a notebook. That said, this course has certainly introduced me to some new possibilities, and I really have tried hard to tackle the strategies discussed in the course.
I think one reason I struggled in the past was that I was not aware of the technology that is available to students these days. While I still wrestle with some of the tools that Watkins writes about in Chapter 8, “Online Readings: Gaining the Most from What You Read” (2004), I plan to practice using tools like the highlighter or sticky notes feature in pdf documents (Watkins, 2004, p. 98), features I knew about but never tried, even when this course ends. Maybe one day it will become second nature to me.
Also, when reading for a class, I usually just dived right in and started my reading. I didn’t prepare for reading. No one ever taught me how to do this, and that’s sort of crazy! As Watkins points out, “…it is often important to reflect on the purpose of the reading within the context of the e-learning experience…This reflection will provide you with a clear set of goals…” (Watkins, 2004, p.100). Additionally, I really liked his tips for increasing proficiency, such as “follow the major concepts or ideas more closely than the individual words” (Watkins, 2004, pp. 104). Another important concept was reflecting on your notes (Watkins, 2004, p. 105). I usually never look at my notes again, unless I have a test or something. No wonder I have memory issues! I must start doing this.
Besides online reading, we also looked at note taking in this module. I tend to stick with the outline method when taking notes, but I am very proud of the fact that I have started using EverNote. I even used it over the weekend when I attended a workshop at my church. We were getting ready to start a discussion and I grabbed a pen and started fishing around in my purse for a piece of paper, then I thought, “No!” I whipped out my cellphone and brought up my EverNote app and used that to take notes. That is a huge step for me. I felt so hip and wise! I really appreciate the opportunity that this course has given me to try new learning techniques. Thank you!
Source:
Watkins, Ryan. (2004). Online Readings: Gaining the Most from What You Read. In G.M. Piskurich
(Ed.), Getting the most from online learning: A learner’s guide (pp. 93-110). San Francisco: John
Wiley & Sons.