[nabs-l] class notes

Thu Feb 27 00:21:15 UTC 2014

I completely agree with Darian. I want to be the one to decide what's
important, not trust someone else to do it. Also, I think it's been
shown that we remember more of what we hear when we write it down.
Even if I never look at my notes again, the act of writing them down
helps with memory. Related to this, I have found that when I take the
time to write myself a reminder about something, I usually remember to
do it and don't need the note, because the act of writing it down
seals it in my memory.
There is nothing about blindness that limits our ability to write down
the important parts of what we hear. I have taken many, many classes
as a bio and psych double major, master's student and now doctoral
student. I have never once been significantly disadvantaged by not
knowing what was written on the board or even the PowerPoint. I have
found whatever is important is almost always verbalized by the
instructor. The few times something is written but not spoken, it's in
the textbook. By reading the textbook and attending class regularly, I
have earned good grades while taking my own notes and with minimal
hassle. I think sometimes people overestimate the importance of the
visual, and sometimes just make things more complicated than they need
to be. If you attend class and write down what sounds important, even
if you don't get every little detail, you should be fine. On the other
hand, if you sit back without actively writing, and trust another
student to have good judgment about what you should know, you are
limiting your natural ability to learn, in my opinion.

I'll add that now I am a college instructor and I use PowerPoint to
help the visually oriented students, but I always, always verbalize
any points I think are critical for understanding the material,
sometimes twice. I don't expect students to copy my slides verbatim,
but I do expect them to take their own notes. I provide PowerPoints
but not until after class

Arielle

On 2/26/14, Kirt <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think there's a fair amount of research showing that people remember
> things more when we actually write them down and in my own life at least
> that seems to be very true. Therefore, one of the main things that makes
> notes most valuable is the actual act of writing. That being the case, it
> kind of boggles my mind how people who ostensibly want us to be academically
> successful Will, by paying people to pay attention for us, deprive us of one
> of the most effective means of facilitating that success. Of course I can
> see how there could be some specific exceptions, perhaps with attention
> disorders and learning disabilities, but I think, for most of us, taking our
> own notes gives us the best chance to succeed.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Feb 26, 2014, at 3:56 PM, haley sumner <haleysumner at sbcglobal.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hey everyone,
>> I am a junior in high school, and I, like the others, always take notes
>> during my teachers' lectures. Often, my teachers will send me their
>> powerpoint or outline that is being projected on the screen for the other
>> students to see, so I will be able to follow along similar to my
>> classmates. If the teacher mentions something that is not included in the
>> outline or PowerPoint, I will add this information as needed. Like Sophie
>> said, taking notes definitely keeps me focused, for if I didn't do this, I
>> would easily get distracted and space off.
>> HTH, :)
>> Haley
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>> On Wed, Feb 26, 2014 2:36 PM PST Sophie Trist wrote:
>>>
>>> I, too, take my notes using a braillenote. Someone said earlier that
>>> taking notes distracts them from a lecture. For me, the opposite is true.
>>> Taking notes keeps me focused. If I don't take notes, I sometimes space
>>> off and miss part of the lesson. What I do is, I take notes based on the
>>> teacher's lecture. Then, I read the chapter to reinforce the notes and
>>> cement my understanding of concepts I'm having trouble with.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Danielle Sykora <dsykora29 at gmail.com
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Date sent: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:19:23 -0500
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] class notes
>>>
>>> I am also a high school student and I take my own notes using a
>>> laptop. I believe that students should take their own notes as much as
>>> possible in order to develop the optimal understanding of a lesson.
>>>
>>> On 2/26/14, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
>>> I'm in high school, but thought I would comment. Accept for math where
>>> my
>>> notes are brailled, I type my notes. If the teacher has an outline
>>> posted, I
>>> will use that. I was taught that having my notes done any other way was
>>> completely unacceptable.
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Feb 26, 2014, at 3:44 PM, "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Sorry, I cannot help commenting even though I have not been a student in
>>> a
>>> while.  We don't always know what other
>>> disabilities someone may have that might affect their abilities to, for
>>> example, multi-task, but learning to take
>>> notes is a skill that will benefit one for their entire lives on the
>>> job.
>>> One just isn't always going to have a
>>> scribe to take notes.  My guess is that for at least a while, it is not
>>> easy for sighted people to take notes and
>>> concentrate on lectures, either, but it is an ability that can be
>>> developed in most cases.  Having someone else
>>> take notes just means that one will need to develop this skill later,
>>> when
>>> getting your job done might be on the
>>> line rather than a grade.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Steve Jacobson
>>>
>>> On Wed, 26 Feb 2014 15:10:21 -0500, justin williams wrote:
>>>
>>> Except for a few instances, I have always taken my own notes; maybe 99
>>> percent of the time. That includes right now.  I use a lap top, but I
>>> have
>>> used a notetaker in the past.  Hand written notes must be typed in to a
>>> computer for you to do anything with them; probably in Microsoft word.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kierra
>>> Davis
>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 2:06 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] class notes
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kierra Davis
>>> Hello All,
>>>
>>> Just a quick question.
>>>
>>> I want to know how do you get notes for your classes? Do you take them
>>> yourself? Do you have a note taker? Does the school pay them, or are
>>> they
>>> doing it out of kindness? If they are handwriting the notes, how do you
>>> get
>>> them into a format you can access?
>>>
>>> I know this is more than one question, but I just want to know how
>>> others
>>> are handling this situation.
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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