note taking in medic class

[Katie]

does anyone here take a notebook computer and take all their class notes on that? does it seem to work well?

last semester i took several notebooks worth of class notes but had trouble keeping track of and organizing them for review. this term i'm considering going all electronic and keeping files by date in a folder. has anyone else tried this?

thanks

 

[Ridryder911]

I do not allow any electronic devices in my classroom. It distracts others and annoys the he*l out of me when I am teaching. Many of the institutions are now beginning to change back... (dependent on the class)

Take as many notes as you like with pencil and paper, then you can do as you want. Sure, categorize them to be able to study them....

Personally, leave your PDA, Mp3, Cellphone, i-pod/phone, computer somewhere else than the classroom.

R/r 911

 

[TransportJockey]

I bring my laptop into class to do notes. If for no other reason than I type faster than I write. It's done me well so far, better than pen and paper.

 

[Katie]

Many of the institutions are now beginning to change back... (dependent on the class)

our school seems to be moving more in the electronic direction than away from it, both in terms of all class resources being online as well as instructors encouraging the use of computers in class. several people did electronic last term but with mixed results.
i agree it can be distracting though, especially with wireless internet. the idea of being able to do research while in class is interesting, and even done successfully last term, i'd agree that it probably is more of a distraction than the few times it is a help. on the other hand i suppose people argue that this is university and people need to be responsible for them selves.
right now i'm just trying to find a system that's more efficient be it pen and paper or computer based.

 

[Katie]

I bring my laptop into class to do notes. If for no other reason than I type faster than I write. It's done me well so far, better than pen and paper.

lol that's what i'm thinking. i'm not the fastest writer either. and after 8 hrs of lecture i get really tired

 

[Hastings]

I always brought my laptop, but really, I just ended up browsing internet sites like this one in between taking very brief notes. I know, horrible.

Don't bring your laptop. It's a distraction. I'd know.

 

[BrianJ]

What I've found works best in most of my classes (I'm not in paramedic classes) is to write all notes by hand, then after class retype them in a question and answer format. ie: if the notes are on interstitial fluid; I will make a question such as what four pressures influence volume of interstitial fluid flow? Then list the pressures as an answer; bhp, icop, bcop, ihp.

Then come test time you already have a nice review question and answer list. That can easily be made into flash cards.

 

[firecoins]

I record everything and listen to the lecture on the way home.

 

[MMiz]

I'm a computer dork, but never found a benefit in using my laptop in class. The few times I've taken it to my graduate classes, I end up surfing the internet.

In EMT class I ended up taking notes on yellow legal pads and then hole punching them and putting them in a binder with dividers.

In college I found that the kids who brought laptops were exceedingly distracting with their loud typing.

 

[Hastings]

In college I found that the kids who brought laptops were exceedingly distracting with their loud typing.

Or <Insert Internet Forum / Entertainment Site Here>.

Actually, the girl in the front played World of Warcraft during lectures. True story. Now, I wasn't quite that bad...

 

[daimere]

What I always do is to take the notes in class writing and when I get home I type them out all nice in neat. Maybe I will find some extra pictures or information to add to my notes. It always helped and everything is nice, readable and organized.

 

[MMiz]

What I always do is to take the notes in class writing and when I get home I type them out all nice in neat. Maybe I will find some extra pictures or information to add to my notes. It always helped and everything is nice, readable and organized.

That's what I did during my first year of college. Typing your notes is a great way to help remember and retain information. The process of thinking about the topic and typing it does wonders.

 

[Ridryder911]

I always brought my laptop, but really, I just ended up browsing internet sites like this one in between taking very brief notes. I know, horrible.

Don't bring your laptop. It's a distraction. I'd know.

Hence the reason I do not allow laptops, and electronic gadgets.. I do not want "text messaging" while lecturing or attempting to teach. If you have that much time on your hands then obviously, you are way too smart to be learning.

R/r 911

 

[daimere]

That's what I did during my first year of college. Typing your notes is a great way to help remember and retain information. The process of thinking about the topic and typing it does wonders.

I know! That is why next paycheck I'm willing to shell out $100+ bucks to fix my laptop because depending on gas/workload and EMT-B classes, between work will be the best time to study/retype them.

 

[Onceamedic]

I took detailed notes by hand in class. After class, I would type them up on my computer, looking up pictures, diagrams, etc. to add to them to clarify or illustrate points. I would sketch diagrams in the notes too, and then reproduce them with graphics software and throw those in too.

I covered the material 3 times - once by doing the assigned reading before class, then by taking notes in the lecture, and finally by typing them into my word processor. During paramedic school, I ended up with approximately 1600 type written pages.

By the third class, fellow students asked me if I minded sharing my notes. I had no problem doing that. By the end of school, I have half the class on my notes group. Paramedics who had graduated years before heard about my notes and asked for copies. They got added to the group.

After graduation, I burned copies onto CD and sent them to whoever asked for them.

The benefits - I ended up with a 4.0 GPA. It was part of my process anyway, and the fact that people found them useful was the extra push I needed to maintain that discipline through paramedic school.

I had a student write to me and tell me that he had failed his first try at NREMT-P. He reviewed my notes and passed the next time. He credited my notes for his passing. I don't quite buy that, but it was gratifying anyway.

I heard from the following year's class. My notes are now a legend and part of SOP for new students. Cool huh?

Anyway, that's my story on note taking. Do the work. Take your own notes. It worked out very well for me.

 

[MMiz]

That's awesome. So are you going to share 'em?

 

[daimere]

I took detailed notes by hand in class. After class, I would type them up on my computer, looking up pictures, diagrams, etc. to add to them to clarify or illustrate points. I would sketch diagrams in the notes too, and then reproduce them with graphics software and throw those in too.

I find it hard to write detailed notes in class because they breeze through the topics. Do you use a certain graphics software?

 

[rhan101277]

I do not allow any electronic devices in my classroom. It distracts others and annoys the he*l out of me when I am teaching. Many of the institutions are now beginning to change back... (dependent on the class)

Take as many notes as you like with pencil and paper, then you can do as you want. Sure, categorize them to be able to study them....

Personally, leave your PDA, Mp3, Cellphone, i-pod/phone, computer somewhere else than the classroom.

R/r 911

I am going to be having my cellphone in class, but not using it. I have to have it in case I get called out. You don't make exceptions?

 

[MMiz]

I am going to be having my cellphone in class, but not using it. I have to have it in case I get called out. You don't make exceptions?

On my employment test for being a teacher they asked what I'd do if a student answered a phone call from his mother during class, knowing that his father was in the hospital. They asked what I'd do.

I believe there are exceptions to every rule, including this one, but at the college level I don't think there are that many reasons to have a cell phone on in class.

 

[Ridryder911]

Or <Insert Internet Forum / Entertainment Site Here>.

Actually, the girl in the front played World of Warcraft during lectures. True story. Now, I wasn't quite that bad...

Hence the reason, no electronic gadgets.. (yes, I will allow digital or recorders). I have no hard feelings for those that want to play... just don't do it in my classroom. Then don't whine & cry when you fail the board examination.

I am going to be having my cellphone in class, but not using it. I have to have it in case I get called out. You don't make exceptions?

You leave you either get counted absent or tardy. Get someone to cover for you, I do to teach. How important is this class? As well, state laws are written that a student shall have so many hours of instruction... no excuses. So if you are allowed so many misses that is it. Is it fair for those that make arrangements to be there or to be disrupted?..

I realize it is hard, but other professions do not make exceptions either.... again, we are not any more special than anyone else.

R/r 911