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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

Image from iOS

Notes Example 1

Image from iOS (3)

Notes Example 2

Image from iOS (1)

Notes Example 3

Image from iOS (2)

Notes Example 4

vocab

Notes Example 5

redux

Notes Example 6

asynch

Notes Example 7

troll

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!

@coleanthony1990
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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.

@ashuhleyt
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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.

@knestler
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knestler commented May 10, 2022

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

@rebeckahendricks
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  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.

@ohClaire
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  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.

@alyciacan
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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!

@RyanChrisSmith
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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!

@ajpulzone
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ajpulzone commented Jun 6, 2022

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.

@James-E-White
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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.

@jlweave
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jlweave commented Jul 9, 2022

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.

@KaraJoHo
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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.

@Tristinsorrells1
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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.

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