Best Ways to Take Notes During Online Lectures
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Online lectures have their own advantages and disadvantages. Attending online classes allows students to save the commute time and complete the lectures at their own pace. This helps the student to review and grasp the concepts better. However, taking notes properly is one of the major challenges in online classes as one has to tackle distractions, toggle between tabs while trying to focus on the topic.
Students can go through this blog to know about the best note taking methods for online classes.
Contents
Importance of Taking Notes
Taking down notes serves more benefits than just helping in learning. It is not only vital in understanding the concepts better but also improves retention. Aside from improving memory they also act as a tool for revision. Hence, practising some of the best ways to take notes during online lectures helps a lot.
In addition, knowing how to take notes in online lectures in an organised manner is helpful for revision and cross-checking the facts. Aside from helping with the recall and serving as a resource, consistently taking down notes also enables the students to stay on track. It maintains their focus as constantly listening and noting down the important information decreases the chance of getting distracted.
 Best Ways of Taking Notes
Every student has a unique learning capacity which defines their ways of studying and taking down notes in the process. There are the several techniques / methods to take notes; below-mentioned are some of these:
- Cornell Method
Cornell method also known as the method of 5 Rs. of note-taking. These 5 Rs. are composed of Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect and Review. Cornell method allows students to organise the information in three sections namely: a detailed notes section, a cue column, and a summary section.
Cornell method is considered to be one of the best note taking methods for online class. This method stimulates critical thinking and active listening among students and requires them to write extensive notes. And, later systematically summarise and paraphrase the information while recognising the key points using cues. This helps in better understanding of the information.
- Outline Method
The Outline method consists of building an outline of the lecture presented. An outline involves spaces to make a shorter version of the lecture using headings and subheadings of the major and minor points. This outline can later be referred for a quick review.
Outlines not only record the information but also shows the level of importance of a topic; the closer a topic is from the major point, the more importance it holds. This is an effective note-taking technique for online classes as it allows students some time in between topics to process the information and follow a defined structure.
- Mapping Method
The Mapping method is a visual overview of the topics taught. This method includes symbols, numbers, colours, and other visual aids that sum up the information while keeping the relationship between topics intact.
The constant processing of data into visual tools maintains active participation from the students ensuring quick understanding of the topic. The mapping method is one of the best note taking methods for online classes that have no structured flow and demands quick thinking.
- Charting Method
The Charting method includes tables, graphs or charts. This is to capture the information in an order that lets students have the advantage to identify and compare similarities, patterns, and differences in a topic.
Charting is a useful note taking method for online classes that involves a lot of statistical & figurative data analysis. It is among the best note taking methods for online classes that expects students to study comparisons and require shorter answers while giving the overview.
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Tips to Take Good Notes
Refer to the following tips to know about the effective tips to take notes in online classes:
- Active Engagement
The first step for making good notes is to listen attentively. It is essential to listen to what is being taught in order to note down the key points. Students should actively engage with the content, ask questions when confused, and discuss the points with teachers or fellow classmates to understand the topic better.
- Organisation of the Information
In order to avoid confusion while note-taking, use separate titles, subheading, bullet points, tables, highlighters, and visual aid to organise notes. Make a legend for symbols and colours if necessary. The aim should be to have notes that consist of all the necessary information and helps in revising.
- Use of Abbreviations
It becomes difficult to write everything quickly without missing information. To retain everything, one of the best note taking methods for online classes include the usage of abbreviations. This helps to make connections between topics and aid in grasping the topic without reading a lot of textual content.
- Summarising the Data
During online classes, often due to lack of physical textbooks and handouts, students tend to write everything that is discussed. This results in notes that are difficult to read and too detailed to remember. To avoid this, it is important for students to summarise the information and write in their own words.
- Prior Preparation
One excellent tip for note-taking for online classes is to prepare before the lecture. Going through the topic beforehand allows the students to decide how they would like to take their notes for the class. It gives them time to know the right method and to draft an outline for their notes. This helps the student to spend more time listening than writing in the lecture.
- Comparing Notes with Peers
Making collaborative notes or comparing notes with other students allows to not only catch points that might have been missed but also make them understand more than one opinion which helps to refine the understanding of the topic.
- Finding a Medium that is Best Suitable
Everyone has different ways of learning. Some prefer pen and paper to make notes while others prefer to take notes digitally. It is important to find which medium suits the needs of the student the most.
For students who like to take notes digitally, there are several Apps For Online Note Taking that they can explore and work on.
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Conclusion
Online classes provide great flexibility when it comes to learning. And knowing how to take notes in online lectures properly is extremely beneficial. Productive note-taking can help students in improving their memory retention, helping focus on important points, and so on.
There are many ways to take notes; some of the best note taking methods for online classes include the Cornell Method, The Outline Method, The Mapping Method, and the Charting Method. Along with the methods, there are several tips that make online note taking easy. Students can try different methods & tips and decide what suits their needs the best.
