Top tips for making digital notes
Through my own journey I have learnt that no one makes notes in the same way. You could make notes by writing on the back of your hand or creating files in OneNote.
Note making is diverse, interactive and adaptable. If you have a way of taking notes that helps you to remember and understand information you're studying, you have an effective note making method.
Don't just take my word for it. Have a read through tips that other students have provided about their note making habits.
What students suggest
Often the most helpful study advice comes from fellow students. And that’s no different for making digital notes.
Throughout the guide Bonnie-Rose has shared her experiences and strategies for getting the most out of notes and digital tools. But what works for one may not work for others. So, we have a range of game-changer note making and digital tool tips.
Click on the plus icons to explore strategies and tips that fellow students have shared about what worked best for them. Find out which ones sound right for you.
Activity overview
This interactive image hotspot provides quotes from students at university with tips on how they make notes. Each hotspot has the tips grouped under a particular concept, located near an image reflecting the concept. Hotspots are displayed as plus (+) icons that can be clicked, presenting information for each note making tip.
Hotspot 1
Audio
"My biggest game changer would probably be having text-to-speech turned on while I read/highlight/review stuff. This helps because I’m summarising on the first read-through; I highlight less; I’m not constantly back-peddling like I do when typing; and I’m much more likely to record my thoughts before I forget them."
"I also really like the Microsoft word online for transcribing audio files."
"When watching recordings of lectures/videos with content I am expected to learn, I often slowdown the playback speed, especially when I want to record specific quotes that I may want to use in future. Although it can take longer, I find I absorb more when I slow it down to take in the content."
Hotspot 2
Digital tools
"I did rely on Grammarly a lot for my assessments in regards to spellchecking, punctuation and a few other things. There is a free version but I would recommend paying for the subscription as you get a lot more out of it like a plagiarism score and ways to make the writing sound more professional." "I prefer to handwrite my lecture notes as I absorb information better through handwriting and I find myself getting less distracted with typing "perfect" notes. I then create a tab for the Unit in OneNote, and type up my notes in a new page, filling in any gaps I've missed."
Hotspot 3
Organised system
"The way I access and organise my notes has a significant impact on how fast I can make associations and 'put the pieces together'."
"Organise your notes depending on the subject, class, or date so that you can easily navigate through past and current notes. Organising your notes also makes it easier for you to revise or edit previous materials."
"I find the way I organise or file my notes really effects how well I can access them when I want to renew them. Personally I like to use OneNote and use pages and sections corresponding to my different units and weeks of content in order to keep track of my notes."
"For the tech side of notetaking, tagging systems have helped me to stay organised in a more intuitive way and are available on even barebones Windows/Mac file explorers."
Hotspot 4
Everything in one place
"I currently use an iPad for my notetaking and have been using Apple Notes. I prefer Apple Notes because of its different pens and features, but it doesn't really matter the tool, all that matters is that you stick to one tool, and make sure to take all your notes on that one tool."
"Using only one tool reduces the amount of time you have to spend searching for something you wrote down in a different location. Imagine trying and find an important note, but you wrote it in a place you normally wouldn’t, and you need this note. So now you are wasting time and losing productivity trying to find it. Keeping everything in one place, simplifies that struggle and improves productivity."
"Everything in one place is also an effective way of being able to access your notes from other devices; for example, if I setup my iPhone with my iPad, I can read notes from my phone. This feature just depends on the type of ecosystem you are running on, whether Samsung, Google, or Apple."
Hotspot 5
Mapping concepts
"I’ve found that using colours makes everything easier to read if I come back to revise my notes. The assorted colours allow you to be actively engaged in writing and limit you from slowing down or burning out. Colours can be assigned to different tasks, groups, headings/subheadings, and important words or features. Organising colours for all your notes eventually results in not having to think about doing it, and becomes cognitive, so when we you come back to a note, you don’t have think about what the heading is or where the important part is, it all just connects."
"Concept mapping is excellent if I’m struggling to be concise. I stick to rough pen drawings because I’ll procrastinate in Illustrator otherwise."
Hotspot 6
Lists and resources
"Using a notetaking app to write a list of questions I have before I start reading, and answering them as I read. This makes it really easy to relate my learning to my assessments and see what gaps I might need to fill."
"A suggestion for OneNote is to keep a running list of resources I’ve found for my assessments. I record the resource according to the referencing guide, that way I have an almost complete reference list by the time I’ve finished my assessment."
Attribution and acknowledgement
Crediting creators and attributing content is a core part of both academic integrity and of being a digital citizen more broadly. This guide was co-created by Bonnie-Rose (a student partner), Deakin Library colleagues, student contributions, and Deakin Language and Learning Advisers (Study Support). Student partner involvement was made possible through a Deakin Students as Partners funding grant.