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Tech Tip ~ Note Taking | Liberty Hall Writers
Tech Tip ~ Note Taking
Published by Mike Munsil on January 31st, 2009 in How-To, Reading.
Take Note, Writers!
Everyone has their own way of doing it. Some like it hot; some not. Some do it on paper, others do it on the internet. However you do it, it’s all good.
KISS ~ Let’s keep it simple:
I am NOT going to recommend using MS Word for note taking. That’s just ridiculous. Notepad is better, far better, and that’s ’cause Notepad strips out the non-essentials and just gets down to basics.
So, what ARE the basics of note-taking? Well, to me the basics are NOT trying to copy everything verbatim; nor is it trying to reword and rewrite the source material. To me, note taking is capturing JUST ENOUGH of the essentials to meet your needs, and making sure you refer others to the source of the information you use.
So, here it is, in a nutshell:
~ Firstly, define what your needs are; it won’t take long and it really pays off.
~ Once you know what you need, the hard part is done. Capture that info and if doing so with pen and paper is what works for you, just do it. No need to get fancy if you don’t want to.
MEMEME ~ If you’re like me:
Nah!
That’s too easy. I’m going to use free, reliable and easy to use software to do it, instead. There’s plenty of it out there and here are some links to a few of them:KeyNote, TreePad Lite and MemPad are notable for their simple file-tree organization system and the
ability to maintain many notes within a single file.ENoteFile is very flexible and allows you to attach images as well as taking notes ~ EnoteFile
Tiddlywiki
is an amazingly extensible single-file program that can be read and used in any internet browser on Macs, Windows PCs and Linux boxes. The generic form of Tiddlywiki in particular is very well supported. The TiddlyBackpack version is specifically aimed at note taking.GEARHEADS ~ Coffee and the Internet… a potent combination:
No, no, no! That’s too easy and none of it even includes the internet! What ARE you thinking?
Okay, if you’re REALLY like me, you can make it more complicated and do it on the internet, as an application that accesses the internet, using an application that resides in your browser, or implementing Web 2.0 technology by putting your very own Wiki up on the web.
EverNote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using
whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work - in the web browser itself.
Dokuwiki is a standards-compliant, simple to use Wiki, mainly aimed at creating documentation of any kind. It is targeted at developer teams, workgroups and small companies. It has a simple but powerful syntax which makes sure the datafiles remain readable outside the Wiki and eases the creation of structured texts. All data is stored in plain text files – no database is required. Installing it is as simple as copying all the files via FTP to your web site, and executing ‘install.php’.
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2 Responses to “Tech Tip ~ Note Taking”
Jake says:
I’d like to recommend a note taking software called NoteScribe. It’s great for creating, storing, and organizing notes on your computer, as well as creating and generating sources and bibliographies, attaching files (images, audio, video, spreadsheets, PDFs) to your notes, the ability to share notes, and much, much more.
In the coming months there will be an online version available in addition to the desktop version. The online version will make your NoteScribe database accessible any where you go! Visit http://www.NoteScribe.net to learn more about the program!
Jake
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