Note-taking tips

[ErinRN2B]

Since I start my fundamentals lecture on Monday, I was wondering if any of you had any note-taking advice for nursing lectures. Did you use a computer to take notes or just pen and paper? Any other tips and tricks? I have also purchased a digital recorder so that I can listen to the lectures again while studying at home.

[ruaalien2]

Yeah, I wish I'd known about this for A&P, too!

jil_, when I was in high school I often re-typed my notes after class because it's just easier for me to have all of my notes in one place. Re-typing them also helps to reinforce the important concepts. Before tests or exams I always like to make myself a study guide of all of the important points that we've covered in class so far. I think that OneNote would be useful for that, too.

I did the same think in high school! For me, it was more because I have horrible handwriting and trying to read my notes after for the tests were awful!

[Moogie]

I still can't decide whether I want to use a notebook or my laptop for note taking. I think I'd rather use my laptop because it will keep me more organized. Also, in MS Word there is a "Notebook" feature that's really cool--it's laid out like a paper notebook, has dividers for different sections, and also has a recording function that works pretty well for recording lectures.

A dozen kudos for this post! I'm doing a nurse educator master's and find this tip enormously helpful, not only for my own classes but also for classes that eventually I will teach. And you're right---the recording function works well. I might write up some notes for my classes and record important concepts and vocabulary with the recording function so I can read and listen to my notes.

Thank you for a brilliant suggestion that is useful to all students. I'm passing this info on to both of my sons, one of whom is in college while the other starts grad school next month.