I was very pleased with the responses that I got from my last post. I found both comments to be very interesting and as I am thinking about them I keep finding new ways that I can help my own learning process. I have implemented recording my classes to help in adding to my "notes" and how I review the class sessions. But on to current news...
This week has been a challenge for me in the fact that I have lost the use of my tablet. This also means I have lost access to all my notes, hw, and my calc textbook. My power cord had a short and I was unable to charge my computer. This was something that I had not planned on dealing with, but this is defiantly something that needs to be taken into consideration. Not so much by the instructor but more so by a student that wants to go paperless or is paperless.
I was able to access my textbook by uploading it to my Mac and I went to traditional ways of note taking (i.e. paper and pen) but it was a hard transition. I miss the tablet. Last week I was kinda getting to a point of missing paper, and I might start printing out some of my readings just for my specific learning style, but this week had cured me of my paper addiction.
I am finding that while paper is more comfortable for me to use, I am far more engaded within my class when I am using the tablet. I am able to annotate better the notes when they are right on hand. My diagrams are much easier to understand and the habit of just saving things to files rather then having different notebooks has become second nature to me. I also find that when I am reviewing the notes on my own it is nice to be able to change and move things around in an order that allows for better flow when studying.
I will admit that getting fast access to my notes is a bit more difficult using my tablet. When I need to look something up from a perviouse day it is a bit of a pain. I have to remember which file it was in them from there I must wait for it to load (at this point in the class the question is already answered then has moved on) and once the file is open I must find the correct page.
These are all things that I am taking into account when looking at the overall view of this project. I am also taking into account that I myself am a bit bias to paper in the simple fact that it is what I have used my entire life and it is what I am comfortable with. But as I am integrating these new forms of tech I am seeing my learning style grow in areas where is had suffered before.
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Fascinating. I often wonder if we've reached "The Peter Principle" (i.e. passed our point of competence and/or usefulness) when it comes to the ways in which we use technology. That is, with it, we can spend 10% of our time to save 90% of our time, and that's awesome, but if we're not careful, we can also spend 90% of our time to save that last 10% that should really stay with traditional methods. And I for one don't know where that balance point is, so I'm trying to find it. And your comments do help me to discern that point for myself, so ongoing thanks for posting. Best, -John
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