How do you take notes in class or meetings?
Tuesday, September 21st, 2004
Taking notes is problematic for many people with learning disabilities for a variety of reasons:
- poor or slow handwriting
- inability to listen and write at the same time
- inability to summarize or paraphrase
- inability to pay attention
- difficulty organizing notes visually on page so they make sense
What kinds of problems do you have taking notes in class or in meetings and what do you do to make note-taking easier for yourself?
I hated taking notes but after a few years of doing wrong way I learn the right way… That is get the notebook paper that has the line down the center of the paper (its call law rule) this has helped me in the biggest way and I can read what I wrote down on my page before my notes looked like a mad man that wrote them.. Or you can draw a line down the center and put your keywords on the left and define them on the right… Its a big help and I could just kick myself for not doing this before after I took a learning to learn and they taught me how too do it but I was hard headed and did not do it and I took the same class this summer and doing now and doing well because I can read what I wrote in class….
know it’s been really great for me, because I can find what I wrote down the day of class. Its really easy too do like you said but also you can read what you wrote and it makes studying a little timey because you don’t have to look at the notes for an hour wondering what the the heck you wrote down.
My husband is a LD college student, registered with the Students with Disabilities office. His school provides notetakers for any student with a disability – LD, deafness or hard-of-hearing, blind or visually impaired, etc. Ususally the notetake is another student already registered for that class. Before he started utilizing this service, he took his own notes and they were such a mess that even he couldn’t understand them when he tried to study. The first semester that he started using notetakers his grades improved by one full letter grade!
I’m not sure what kind of school you attend, but if it doesn’t offer a service like this, perhaps you can ask a friend to take notes for you. Of course, I always encourage my husband to take his own notes too, because then when he reviews the notetakers notes, the material seems familiar to him. You could also try tape recording your classes, like someone else suggested. Unfortunately my husband found that he had a difficult time transcribing the tapes when he played them back at a later time. Also, when he couldn’t understand exactly what his teacher said, he’d “guess” or write down the wrong information and then he would study incorrect information which would affect his test scores.
My best advice is this – don’t be embarrased to ask for or receive help. Ultimately, it is just a means to an end. After you graduate it won’t matter how you got there.
What about tools like AlphaSmart keyboards or tape recorders? Anyone tried using these and if so, what did you think?
Richard,
I started using my Dana for notetaking and can’t imagine using any other tool especially not paper/pencil. I am able to keyboard without taking my eyes off the presenter which facilitates notetaking for me. When I use a paper/pen method, I have to keep looking at the paper which slows me down and I forget what I want to write. Plus, the beauty of the Dana is the touch screen so if I need to return to an earlier note, I can easily get there with the touch screen and add things in. Then, I can still decipher what I read since keyboarding is always legible.
Karen, right on. Long battery life, excellent and quiet keypad, and simple OS all make Dana a great tool for note taking. My only complaint is the screen: I wish it had more contrast. I find looking at it for long periods strains my already old eyes, even with reading glasses. I find the Neo’s screen easier on my eyes as it has better contrast (although fewer features). Thanks for the comment and suggestion.
I have ld, dyslexia, etc and am very frustrated and was wondering if anyone has this same problem, not being able to retain the information I read or hear. Its like going in one ear and out the other. Am I just really Dumb or what? I also have adhd and aspergers symdrome. Please Help!
I have a similar problem with feeling like I have a hard time remembering what I see and hear. Here are two things I do that make things better for me:
1. Associaton. I think about what I see and hear. I ask myself if I think it is true and remember what I knew in the past. I also write down new insights. For example, if I write a book review, I remember the book better. This is why I enjoy writing articles. Writing new material helps me learn the already-known material.
2. Repitition. I put the material on a little card in my purse and carry it around. I say it to myself. I tell it to other people.
I have found that although it is harder for me to learn in the first place, I do retain the information longer. I hope this is a helpful comment.
I’ll try those things. Thank You Deena Plaster
I am dyslixic with a touch of adhd. I have sworn off of drugs thought they are just too harsh for. I struggled with note takeing for years in school until I took a test at college that told me that I was an audio learner. I was scared to do so but I sat my pencil down and listened and tried to absorb as much as I could. I would write down key words or page numbers but not much else and my grade went up considerably.
Dustin: Exactly. Great thinking. Use of short hand notes and maybe a tape recorder (writing down the index numbers to mark key places) is the key for people who find it difficult to take notes and listen at the same time. Truth be told, many people have a hard time with note-taking, it’s a difficult skill even for the non-dyslexic. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I dont have LD but do have a problem writing notes etc fast enought to make any sense of them when i read them back.
I use a dicaphone and record the speaker on read things out to record them, that way i can listern to it at my ouw pace.