How do you take notes from PowerPoints?

[Jayal]

Hey all,

I'm having a really difficult time trying to figure out what note-taking method works best for me. I find that writing out summaries and facts onto a sheet of paper directly from a book or powerpoint is not working out for me. I just physically find it draining to transfer the entirety of my thoughts through handwriting, it seems redundant and tedious.

Does anyone have experience with annotating powerpoints? My biggest fear is that I would just passively take in the information. What exactly do you take note of if all the information you need is on the slide? Any other study/note-taking tips are highly appreciated!

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[907914]

Hey all,

I'm having a really difficult time trying to figure out what note-taking method works best for me. I find that writing out summaries and facts onto a sheet of paper directly from a book or powerpoint is not working out for me. I just physically find it draining to transfer the entirety of my thoughts through handwriting, it seems redundant and tedious.

Does anyone have experience with annotating powerpoints? My biggest fear is that I would just passively take in the information. What exactly do you take note of if all the information you need is on the slide? Any other study/note-taking tips are highly appreciated!

I print out the PowerPoint beforehand and take notes on the slides. This leads to random words like “Wafflecone” being written on something, but when it is on the slide next to whatever picture, it triggers me to remember what I was thinking.

 

[Jayal]

I print out the PowerPoint beforehand and take notes on the slides. This leads to random words like “Wafflecone” being written on something, but when it is on the slide next to whatever picture, it triggers me to remember what I was thinking.

Can you give me an example of a note you would write on a slide? If for example a slide is listing the parts of the brain and their function, what exactly would you write down since the slide has all the required info? thank you!

 

[907914]

Can you give me an example of a note you would write on a slide? If for example a slide is listing the parts of the brain and their function, what exactly would you write down since the slide has all the required info? thank you!

Well if the slide has all the required info then no need to take any notes! The beauty of the system lol

A note you might take could be say genetics class for example, a slide introducing the idea of single nucleotide swapping and the professor makes one side comment about how “this is how diseases such as CF come about.” I would quickly write “CF” and circle the single words and draw an arrow to it. With that one action, you have codified in to memory the concept of a single nucleotide base can be all that is required to cause an entire illness.

This is kind of a basic example, but that works for me. Writing notes as shorthand or buzzwords that triggers the thought process is my strategy. That way I don’t take physical notes, most of the “writing” is in my head, I guess?

 

[Jayal]

Well if the slide has all the required info then no need to take any notes! The beauty of the system lol

A note you might take could be say genetics class for example, a slide introducing the idea of single nucleotide swapping and the professor makes one side comment about how “this is how diseases such as CF come about.” I would quickly write “CF” and circle the single words and draw an arrow to it. With that one action, you have codified in to memory the concept of a single nucleotide base can be all that is required to cause an entire illness.

This is kind of a basic example, but that works for me. Writing notes as shorthand or buzzwords that triggers the thought process is my strategy. That way I don’t take physical notes, most of the “writing” is in my head, I guess?

Thank you for explaining. I 100% get you though, I'm someone who retains information so much better when I just understand the concept fully the first time. My only concern with not taking extensive notes is that I will not remember the information from the slides, but i'll definitely take your advice on buzzwords to remember info. Thanks!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

I’ve always taken my notes from the lecture but saved or printed the slides for further review. If they take the time to emphasize something that’s also on the slides it’s usually something you should make note of.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

My method is similar to everyone above. I record the lectures and write notes on the slides. Then, at home, I re-listen to the lecture (usually right before the test) and write up better notes that emphasize what I think will be on the test. Then I study off of my written notes and glance through my slide notes as needed. It can be a little time-consuming, and definitely overkill for an easy class, but it hasn't failed me yet.

The advantage of this is that I rarely, if ever, need to open a textbook. Usually, if I have questions, a quick Internet search will do the trick.

 

[HomeSkool]

I use my phone and take a picture. 😏

 

[sparkysparkyboomman]

I use notability on my ipad to write directly on the powerpoints.


In undergrad, I would sometimes print the powerpoints and write directly on them.

 

[areyoureadyforit]

I don’t take notes at all. I just put everything from lecture slides straight into anki so that I can actively review everything 🙂

 

[Cornfed101]

I did a lot of passive learning in undergrad and it really bit me in the butt. I’m a career changer and was leaving a well paying career to do a post bacc. I knew if I was going back to school I would have to become a master at studying. I spent 6 months reading books on memory and learning techniques, spaced repetition, etc.. Here are some things that work for me.

• the first thing you need to know is that what works for one person may not work for you. You need to experiment.
• I like writing on the slides. I do this in GoodNotes on the iPad so I can write using a stylus. Most often this includes circling things the professor focused on, making notes for further study, etc
• Within 24 hours I go back through these slides and make flash cards in Anki. I make sure to make different kinds of cards depending on the type of information (image occlusion for anatomy, overlapping cloze for lists, etc)
  
  Whatever you decide to do make sure you are engaging in some kind of active review. Anki is the easiest way to do this IMO, but again, you gotta do what works for you.

 

[chemdoctor]

I print out the PowerPoint beforehand and take notes on the slides. This leads to random words like “Wafflecone” being written on something, but when it is on the slide next to whatever picture, it triggers me to remember what I was thinking.

SO MUCH PRINTING THOUGH

 

[907914]

SO MUCH PRINTING THOUGH

If I had an iPad I could use that instead. But I bought the cheapest computer that was still good enough and my school has free printing so...maybe in med school I will save the trees.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

If you buy a Windows laptop with a touchscreen, you can use a stylus to draw directly on the PowerPoint slides without wasting paper.

 

[ThetisAntithesis]

If I had an iPad I could use that instead. But I bought the cheapest computer that was still good enough and my school has free printing so...maybe in med school I will save the trees.

But the trees...

 

[907914]

But the trees...

After some googling I found that the vast majority of deforestation is directly linked to mass clearings for agricultural purposes (opening up new land for crops and cattle ranges) but around 5-10% is due to wood and pulp based product, of which about a third is for paper products. However, the majority of domestic paper and wood products (particularly wood for construction) is yielded from tree farms or sustainable practices on forest service land.

OP (or anyone interested) if you wanna practice taking notes from powerpoints, here is a dope 80 slide powerpoint on the global paper industry:

https://environmentalpaper.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/StateOfTheGlobalPaperIndustry2018_FullReport-Final.pdf

 

[RTC19]

I look at the slides beforehand so I can more easily catch when the professor says something that isn't on the slide. More importantly, I can follow along with the presentation/lecture better this way.

I print off the slides before coming to class (almost all of my professors make them available before class). If the professor gives an example that isn't on the slides, I will write it down.


ETA: Also, I put a star next to the slides that the professor spent a lot of time on or says will be on the exam.

 

[Jayal]

Thank you everyone for the advice.

I did a lot of passive learning in undergrad and it really bit me in the butt. I’m a career changer and was leaving a well paying career to do a post bacc. I knew if I was going back to school I would have to become a master at studying. I spent 6 months reading books on memory and learning techniques, spaced repetition, etc.. Here are some things that work for me.

• the first thing you need to know is that what works for one person may not work for you. You need to experiment.
• I like writing on the slides. I do this in GoodNotes on the iPad so I can write using a stylus. Most often this includes circling things the professor focused on, making notes for further study, etc
• Within 24 hours I go back through these slides and make flash cards in Anki. I make sure to make different kinds of cards depending on the type of information (image occlusion for anatomy, overlapping cloze for lists, etc)
  
  Whatever you decide to do make sure you are engaging in some kind of active review. Anki is the easiest way to do this IMO, but again, you gotta do what works for you.

How do you format your flashcards from the powerpoint slides, in the form of questions? Also, can you give me any advice on how to take chem/physics notes? My professor doesn't have slides and since it's a flipped class, we're just assigned a chapter in the textbook, which can be pretty annoying to take notes from. Do you think just writing down vital info is efficient, also, is it possible to make flashcards for chem?

 

[Cornfed101]

Thank you everyone for the advice.


How do you format your flashcards from the powerpoint slides, in the form of questions? Also, can you give me any advice on how to take chem/physics notes? My professor doesn't have slides and since it's a flipped class, we're just assigned a chapter in the textbook, which can be pretty annoying to take notes from. Do you think just writing down vital info is efficient, also, is it possible to make flashcards for chem?

I did a lot of cloze deletion (fill in the blank). I would also do questions, but they were usually more open ended. I tried to make my flash cards higher order, if I could, to cement understanding more than just wrote memorization.

I agree that working from the textbook can be less efficient. I recommend starting at the end and focusing on the outline. Textbooks are usually formatted with reviews and they have figures and things that emphasize the most important stuff. Don’t read it like a novel. Be willing to jump around and focus on what the book focuses on. You can still definitively make note cards. I would often put math problems or other difficult physics/chem problems on note cards that highlighted specific concepts that I was struggling with and this helped me to solidify those concepts.