 |
Assalamualaikum
It has been 5 months since my last update. Nothing has changed much except that I am now in the 6th semester of my degree. It has been 1 year and 3 months since I started online classes. I have shared my thoughts before on what I felt, if you are interested in reading that, you can click >here<. I went back to my home in Selangor in February, and now I am back here in Perlis. There are procedures that we have to follow to allow us to be here. My university gave us 2 choices by either doing a swab test or isolation. And I chose the swab test as I want to make sure that I really have not caught any virus. Thankfully, the test was negative.
Today I want to share with you how I take my notes during online classes. I know most students don't really take notes as they rely on the lecture's notes, but taking my own notes has been the most effective. You can click on the pictures to see them in better resolution.
1. During class.
There are 2 ways on how I take notes during class.
i) If my lecturers did not give lecture's notes beforehand.
This also depends on the format of the notes. Usually come will give in pdf and others will give in PowerPoint. I annotate all the things that my lecturers said that is not available in the notes. for example, new information or detailed explanation that is not included in the notes. This is important as lecturers love asking things out of the notes during tests or quizzes. I use a pen tablet to write on the slide. I used Wacom One that I bought from Shopee (not spons). I bought it during a sale, so the price was not that high.
This is an example of taking note while in synchronous class. I usually put my note and Google meet side by side like this, so that I know what page the lecturer is on. I don't use any special apps, just use the existing Microsoft PowerPoint and the draw function. You will automatically get it when you connect your laptop to your pen tablet.
This is an example of lecture's notes in pdf format. I just use the normal, free Acrobat Reader and use the comment and highlight feature. I don't usually write on pdf because the pen is not that good, in my opinion. So I just use the comment feature and note down everything my lecturer said.
And lastly, this is an example of me taking notes during asynchronous class. I have synchronous classes during the day and asynchronous classes during the night (who says ODL is not stressing?) My lecturers will provide us with recorded videos for us to review during the class. There is no difference between sync and async classes except that one is pre-recorded and the other is a real-time online class.
This is where I have to really focus in class, and most of the time failed to do so... I use my notebooks and write as notes simple as possible. It is still the same concept except without lecture notes, so I have to write twice faster. Both what is written on the notes and what is not written in the notes.
2. After class
I use OneNote as my go-to digital note-taking app. At first, I can't really get used to it, but slowly but surely I can control my handwriting. It feels write to write on en tablet while your eyes are glued to the laptop's screen. I started doing digital notes by the end of last semester. It is because I feel like using papers are such a waste of resource. My whole university life has me writing notes on books and papers. Don't get me wrong, it does work and easier to flip through. But more and more I think this is not worth it especially when having online classes where lecture notes are digitally too.
This is a sample of my note in OneNote. I rarely do this as my classes already consume most of my time. I barely have time to do my assignments, so writing a full note is something I do when I really have time. Otherwise, I just rely on the notes I wrote during the lectures.
This post is getting long now, so I am just going to stop here. I wish all students fighting! I am here in Perlis because I have lab works I have to complete. I haven't started my lab yet, as it is scheduled to start next week but we will see since we are in lockdown right now. I just want to start and end this lab for good now.
Take care of yourself 💖
Until I write again,
Assalamualaikum.