Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Notetaking Formats

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

My own system of note taking isn't any of the five formats listed here. Rather, what I do is represent the structure of the information being presented - which, in 90% of cases, is a list (sometimes ordered, sometimes nested). Here, for example, are my notes from an article I reviewed this morning. For me, the trick to remembering lists is to remove the extra words surrounding the list items, and to remember the overall structure. To me, each of the five examples in this article (ie., of flashcards, flowcharts, diagrams, charts and mixed) are different representations of a list. When I write, by contrast, I like to do something a little more complex, and to describe systems, networks, causal webs, ecologies, etc. (see? another list). You can't do philosophy or computer programing with just lists. That's why it's such an advantage to build something, and not just take notes.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 09, 2024 11:47 a.m.

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