May 10, 2004
Notes and Snapshots
The latest issue of David Allen's Productivity Principles newsletter features a tip for executives that suggests taking a digital photo of a whiteboard after a meeting, to save time taking notes or recording brainstorming sessions in the minutes.
Of course, some whiteboards come with software that automates this like an Etch-a-Sketch, and there are alternative ways of capturing a dialogue (say, by jotting notes down on a computer as you lecture, a la Dennis Jerz' "just in time" handouts).
But thinking "old school," I like this idea for my own blackboard use. Maybe I'll sneak a digital camera into the classroom in my satchel (since I don't intend to get a cameraphone) and after the students leave, take a snapshot of the board. That way I can remember some of the key ideas that came up in lecture/discussion for classes that incorporate quizzes or exams over lecture notes. I could also appoint an assistant to snap a shot during class, if need be, before erasing the board to start anew.
I might be tempted to even post such "snapshots" to a website for the class to refer to. But I don't think students should be allowed to take photos with their cellphones or other gizmos in lieu of taking notes! Writing and notetaking during a lecture/discussion is still an important component of the learning process. Allen's "tip" assumes that everyone in the meeting is tugging their collars and rolling up their shirtsleeves in active collaboration. That's what class can be like, but the physical act of writing the notes on the board in the first place means that I have mentally processed the ideas...when students write the notes in their own books, they, too, process them (ideally) rather than simply copy them. Notetaking is not merely recording data; it's often paraphrasing it or jotting down one's own thoughts in relation to the data on the board. It functions as a way of concentrating and listening to a speaker. Organized listening through note taking can be a key to student success. Snapping a photo is useful, but does little more than capture an "impression" of visual memory for possible studying later on, rather than actively processing thought synchronically along with the class. Note-taking enhances learning and teachers can help students succeed in it. A snapshot, however, only goes so far (except for those lucky souls with eidetic memory, of course).
Even so, it would be a useful strategy for me, the teacher, when I want to remember examples given or ideas that came up that stray from the lecture plan. I have often sat in a class at the end of the hour, copying notes from my own board for using later on in a quiz or test...this might be a cheap easy and fast solution to save me the trouble.
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For what it's worth, we tried the "software whiteboard capture" at our company. It's worse than useless. I like the digicam idea more.