Notetaking_for_Technical_Content.md

Notetaking for Technical Content

Take a look at the following examples of student notes and jot down your thoughts on the following questions:

1. What stands out about these examples?
2. What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
3. What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

Table of Content Example

Notes Example 1

Notes Example 2

Notes Example 3

Notes Example 4

Notes Example 5

Notes Example 6

Notes Example 7

Tips for Technical Notetaking @ Turing

While everyone has their own style that works for them, here are some key findings we've distilled from our most successful students. We recommend implementing these strategies as you prepare for Turing and throughout Mod 0!

Setup is a key to success

Having an organization strategy can make it easier to use your notes as a tool. We recommend creating a Table of Contents to make it easier to reference your notes. Also, taking notes on key vocabulary BEFORE a lesson has been useful for some students!

Use different colors

This can help with modeling syntax highlighting, making notes easier to read, and help draw attention to different content. We are big fans of fine tip drawing pens such as these.

Leave plenty of whitespace

Having a lot of whitespace in your notebook allows you to add more context, write questions, make connections. If you are ever in doubt as to whether to cram more info on the page or start a new page in your notebook, ALWAYS go for starting a new page!

Draw and diagram often

Many concepts can be difficult to understand with just words, use drawings/diagrams to help synthesize and frame information

Pen + Paper > Digital (During Class)

We STRONGLY recommend using a paper notebook during class and advise you to not rely on taking notes on your computer during class! It can be really difficult to keep up with the pace of the lessons using a computer AND it makes it really hard to diagram/draw tricky concepts. Plus, studies have proven that you will retain more information by physically writing your notes. Remember, you will have access to all of the lesson plans ahead of time so that you aren't pressured to write everything down as it is presented!

Consider transposing your written notes to a digital format

One strategy we've seen work well for students is to dedicate 20-30 minutes each day to reviewing their written notes and transposing them to their preferred digital notetaking tool. This helps to engrain the content you covered that day and allows time to think of connections or ask questions. One benefit of having notes in a digital format is that it allows for easier searching of key terms and concepts using built-in searching tools. Some of our favorite note taking apps are Notion, Evernote, Bear and even Google Docs. Some of these require you to write in a language known as Markdown, which you will get a lot of practice with in Mod 0!

Setting Up Your Notebook

You will be needing to take notes on several of the other activities prior to Mod 0 so we reccommend you take some time to setup your notebook before continuing on to other activities. If you can afford it, we recommend getting a separate notebook for each module. Most likely, you can use one notebook for both Mod 0 and Mod 1!

What stands out about these examples?

How each example structures the notes in a different fashion. Some are similar but others stray a bit (like the one with the monster and the latter ones that seem a bit too clustered).

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

Graphical diagrams.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

I'm already fond of using different colors, but I could employ them better. I will definitely place greater emphasis on diagramming as well.

What stands out about these examples?

The table of contents so notes of specific topics can be found. Also the use of different colors to match how the code is actually written

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

The drawing of pictures is something I rarely have done in the past. It really helps explain concepts well.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

I will be using different colors, creating a table of contents, and drawing diagrams to explain concepts.

1. What stands out about these examples? Color is used to organize content and diagrams are created to conceptualize key ideas and concepts.
2. What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes? The format of the notebook you use can help you organize your work. Building in this structure beforehand will be key to help organize my notes.
3. What do you want to emulate in your own notes? Using colored pens, drawing diagrams for concepts, and setting up my notebooks with a table of contents. Also building in time after each session to review notes, digitize them, and add to them as needed.

What stands out about these examples? what stands out to me is the use of color to organize and conceptualize different topics in your notes
What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes? using a table of contents to organize, drawing diagrams, and also using different colors is all something i think could help me organize things that I have not typically used
What do you want to emulate in your own notes? using a table of contents, legible handwriting, and also using colored pens are all things I plan to use

1. What stands out about these examples?
   I'm noticing the structure of the page, the economic size and cleanliness of the handwriting, the color and quality art and diagrams.

2. What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
   I noticed they used doodles and brackets and so on to organize concepts spatially.

3. What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
   I'd love to emulate anything that these note-takers do, but realistically I imagine they've been building these habits and skills over years...whereas I switched from writing by hand to exclusively typing years ago. If I were to attempt to emulate them, I expect it would require an investment in building new skills and habits that I would be unlikely to succeed at without tutoring and that could become a side-project that could distract me from the actual content of Turing's curriculum. I don't think physical note-taking of this quality is a realistic ask for me. My best chance at taking notes during Turing is probably using Microsoft One Note, which I already use, typing any text that I think I should include and learning to change the font color where appropriate, and potentially using One Note on a tablet (I have an iPad) to draw lines, shapes, or sketches if it feels vital to do so. In terms of building a habit around doing that...it would probably help if I talked to someone at Turing for tips, and also proposed it as a goal to my ADHD coach. Building that habit will require overcoming my ADHD symptoms that I can already predict would get in the way- I would have to schedule a regular time in which to write or review notes, convince myself that sticking to that time is actually important enough for me to make the sacrifices necessary to do it, and spend time establishing familiarity with the techniques of using One Note's interface for my intended purposes.

Note-taking is a skill in the same way that programming is, and I can't expect to succeed at it without feedback on how I'm doing so far. I think it would be wise of me to ask an instructor or teacher's assistant to look at my notes once I've taken some and tell me what I did well or where I could be doing something differently for better results.

1. What stands out about these examples?

Most of the examples are color coded.
The diagrams are unique to the writer and shows how their mind organizes learning.
Some notes look like a wall of text, compared to others that are listed out.

2. What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

Leaving space for additional comments as the information is processed while learning.

3. What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

I like the color coding and titles.
I would like to set up my notes by creating spaces with titles for the next subject.
Setting a plan before the next class helps set up for success; when learning at a fast pace.

What stands out about these examples?
Everything was organized in advance: Table of contents was setup, color coding was used. Plenty of white space was left and graphs were implemented. Nothing was one size fits all, each individual had a take that worked for him/her/them.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
The use of a table of contents, color coding and leaving plenty of white space. I want to remember not to jam everything on to a single page.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
The table of contents. The use of color. Leaving plenty of white space, to make the content easier to navigate and will allow me to add or edit things as needed.

What stands out about these examples?
Some of these examples have been dated and edited.
Most of the examples with diagrams seem more understandable.
The space given between each topic allowed for post notes to be added.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
Dating my notes as well as well as adding a table of contents.
Leaving a space for questions I had/have to ask later.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
I would strive to keep my notes as organized and spaced out as well as using diagrams that make sense to me and help me remember certain concepts. Converting my notes to digital form will allow me to remap and reorganize so the rest of my Mod notes become uniform.

What stands out about these examples?

• The color coding is helpful in adding additional notes to help contextualize examples of lines of code.

• They don't all use the same organizational strategy, but they are all clear and easy to understand.

• One of the examples includes a glossary for (what seems like) commonly used phrases/terms.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

• I've never used color coding to prescribe certain meaning to different blocks of notes. It looks like it would be helpful and may allow me to commit certain concepts to memory better if it's color coded.
  What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
• Incorporating a table of contents will be very useful since it's likely I'll need to constantly reference older notes in order to better understand newer concepts and it's more time efficient to know what page to flip to.
• I've never been great at drawing, but using simple diagrams to express the relationship between two concepts will help make learning the material (or recalling it) a lot easier.

What stands out about these examples?
The use of different colors for different concepts!

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
Using a table of contents with the respective dates the notes were taken.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
I want to have notes that are organized and clearly represent core concepts necessary to succeed.
Also I'd love to be able to draw the "local storage string troll."

What stands out about these examples?

• What stand out to me is the organization. The color coding also seems very convenient since it can make it easier to locate a specific word word.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

• Having a table of content can also be very convenient when trying to review/find something from a previous lesson. Placing key words and page number for easy reference is a great idea. I am going to add that to my notes as well.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

• I would like for my own notes to be very organized so that i can navigate through them with ease. Assuming that a lot of the notes will probably be referenced often i want them to be neat and durable. I believe a binder with paper protectors would be a good investment.

1. What stood out to me in the examples above were:

• The visual ease when reading or skimming through, specifically due to the layout, spacing, and color-coding
• How much drawing/diagraming there is considering the content is all technical

2. What I noticed that I have not considered doing in my own notes are:

• The page setup in examples 1-3, specifically the blank column on the far right side of the page, designating a space to indicate what content you need more practice with/information about, what questions you have, or material that is important to focus on when reviewing
• Using the entire page to demonstrate a cyclical concept in depth, instead of using lots of footnotes (example 5)

3. What I want to emulate in my own notes are:

• Using a table of contents, I always forget how easy it makes referencing specific content when going back at a later date
• Using a more color-coded system and grouping design (i.e. boxing, underlining/highlighting, drawing arrows) to organize my notes

1 - What stands out about these examples?

• Text is easy to read
• Topics are organized
• Color is used to make it easier to read / understand different components

2 - What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

• Table of contents
• Use of highlighters to focus on specific text / headlines
• Whitespace to make it more readable

3 - What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

• Table of contents / page numbers
• White space
• Colors to differentiate types of info

What stands out about these examples?

• The difference between traditional vs. technical notetaking, namely through the amount of whitespace, the color coding, and the visual diagrams
• The table of contents also stands out, I've never created one for notes before!

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

• Definitely the table of contents as well as the focus on whitespace

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

• Color coding
• Whitespace
• Visual diagrams
• Table of contents
• Vocabulary prework

What stands out about these examples?

• Table of contents stands out. I never thought to do that for myself in college.
• Use of color and diagrams helps to quickly access and understand complicated thoughts

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

• Table of contents and use of various colors.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

• Use of space and leaving white space for post-facto notes.
• Table of Contents.
• Use of different colors and diagrams.
• Vocab work.

I have always been very "listicle-y" with my notes so this has very helpful hints.

What stands out about these examples? They draw my attention to them, and are organized in a way I can easily follow.
What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes? Table of contents! Genius.
What do you want to emulate in your own notes? Diagrams, heavily. I am a visual learner, and seeing what we are doing laid out in a visual way will fully help me understand better.

What stands out about these examples?

• the table of contents
• the colors
• the penmanship and organization of notes

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?

• the table of contents. I've never thought of doing that and it's something i could have been using for years!

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?

• how visual these are. Concepts are great if you know how to apply them and visuals can be really helpful reminders

1. All of these examples use color with purpose, use diagrams that make sense to the owner, are neat and readable, and are not too crowded.
2. Transposing my notes to digital format - I would not have considered this initially because of the extra time it would take, but I can definitely see the payoff.
3. I would like to emulate everything I mentioned in 1) - intentional use of color, diagrams that make sense to me, keep them neat and readable and use my whitespace with purpose.

1. The notes are clean and organized, key concepts are highlighted or underlined, there are pages pages dedicated to Table of Contents or definition for keywords.
2. The notes are easy to follow because of the use of colors. I would like to use more of this in my notes to emphasize important facts or ideas. Transposing the notes to digital form would make it easier for me to go over the notes and find key concepts I want to review in the future.
3. I want to emulate better organization and note taking skills by capturing what is important using key words with short, concise description. I also want to give myself plenty of space for me to go back through my notes and expand if needed.

What stands out about these examples?
Table of contents, color-coding (which I already use), frequent illustrations, neatness, organization.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
Table of contents, illustrations, transposing to digital, leaving lots of white space.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
All of the above! I was a meticulous note-taker in high school, which really helped me memorize content. I'm glad to see these ideas and will plan to incorporate them!

What stands out about these examples?
The color coding and organization seems to be key. It really helps to tie the concepts together by similar subjects, titles, etc versus the notes themselves.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
I dont know why, but it has never occurred to me to make a table of contents page. Its brilliant! I will definitely be using that method.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
The table of contents as mentioned above, but also I want to take the time to go back and rewrite my notes with the color coding to help clean up the visual as I am sure the material will be packed with detail. Anything I can do to help me visually and mentally will be great!

What stands out about these examples?
The table of contents helps you locate the information you are looking for much faster. The color coding made it much easier for me to teach different portions of information on the page/interpret different pathways of thought.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
Using the a specific margin space to note what you would like to practice more/what you are struggling to understand. This seems helpful to use as a reminder at the end of a lesson to go back and see which areas/topics were more difficult and need more practice.
Using diagrams with color coding within

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
1.) Utilizing a table of contents in order to find information faster
2.) Margin notes to as reminders to practice certain things/more time learning
3.) Embracing vocabulary sections for each mod/lesson. This is a very new arena for me so I am unfamiliar with many terms.

What stands out about these examples?
Utilizing strategies that worked for them. Color coding and drawing pictures.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes? Leaving the space to add additional thoughts. I need a bigger note pad :). Setting a table of contents and transferring them digitally.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
Ensure I am able to go back research items on my own. Utilize a vocabulary to ensure i follow up. Integrate them into my everyday life.

What stands out about these examples?
The notes are clean, clear, and concise. This will be helpful for reviewing at a later time or just for using it as a reference. Just like with most things, the more organized you can be at the beginning the easier it will be to use later down the line.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
I really liked the idea of a table of contents, this will make it easier to find specific topics faster. I also normally use all the space on the notebook and can see how leaving white space can be beneficial.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
I will continue to use color coding while taking notes but also will add a table of contents and whitespace. I will also be taking my handwritten notes and convert them to digital after the fact. This will be a great way to review and help cement the topics into my mind.

What stands out about these examples?
Clear and straight to the point, key topics to refer to and color coding.

What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
Using more diagrams and pictures to help make sense of ideas.

What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
I want to see how I can add my own kind of diagrams to help as a visual aid. I also really like the table of contents idea to easily find information. Taking notes then writing them down digitally seems like a really great way to review as well.

What stands out about these examples?
-The use of color really stands out to me. I also enjoy the notes that incorporated diagrams.
What did you notice that you may not have considered in your own notes?
-The table of contents section and numbering your pages accordingly is brilliant!
What do you want to emulate in your own notes?
-I just ordered lots of colorful pens and I already have some markers. I will try to use color to make my notes more organized. I also will be implementing a table of contents.