Digital iPad Note-Taking: Guide To Effective & Organized Notes

1. Introduction: Note-taking is something we do in everyday life. And with the introduction of the iPad into our life, whether it's for school, for work, for entertainment, for creativity you, that it has helped us become so much more efficient and organize it as basically become limitless. And today I'm so excited to talk about how the upgrade and improve your overall digital note-taking experience to be more organized, efficient, and productive. So if you're new here, my name is Emily and I'm a university student and I've been taking notes for quite a while as I transition to digital notetaking about a year and a half ago, quite a journey and I've learned that tons lessons. I also post a lot of notating videos on my YouTube and I give lots of study tips there to about note-taking. So you guys can check that out if you are interested. But anyway, basically over the last year and a half, I've been researching a time for all my YouTube videos and just slight note-taking strategies that work for me. And I'm here to basically spill all my secrets with you guys about the insides of digital note-taking and how to take the best notes. Okay, So we have three main targets of this class. First is easing the transition from paper to digital knowns. Next, I'm going to be talking about how to take neater and more organized notes and upgrade that like the overall level and quality of your notes. And lastly, we're going to be talking about better and note-taking strategies and learning at so we always are taught to just write down stuff, but like what's the science behind it? And at the end that you can use the project to just put in your notes and show me what you guys created using all the different strategies we talked about. And I hope you enjoyed this class as much as I enjoyed filming this class. It has been quite a journey, but I am super excited for you guys to dive in and learn everything. So shall we get into the class? We shall, let's go. 2. Why Note-Take?: So before we start the class, I would just like to give a little blurb, like maybe an extended introduction about like why we take notes were taught basically from the youngest age to just write down things like why are we doing this? What is the purpose? I'm really talking about like the underlying principles of this entire course. So why are we note-taking if you never stop to think about it? Here are a few reasons. First, it helps with recall and testing. You're able to recall information better. And there are multiple scientific studies that help prove that handwriting notes rather than typing is more beneficial to your learning. And I think within the digital age, we're all just becoming more efficient and we want to like type notes because you can, of course type a lot faster than handwriting. However, you might know that note-taking is a bit of a passive strategy, but that is if done incorrectly. So just like copying everything down, word for word, verbatim, writing everything down, it doesn't really help with internalizing the information. Therefore, I'm going to be introducing you to more active note-taking strategies that will help you internalize the information better and like recalls, basically, I'll give you a few examples, extensively highlighting words just like highlighting that it summarizing every block of text are just blocks of texts at time, like word for word or not even putting it into your own words or understanding what it is. Next is just rewriting lectures. For example, a professor will give you slides and all you do is just copy everything down. And lastly, like rereading your notes, so just sitting there and just looking at it. However, active note-taking strategies include recognizing what to highlight with like similarities, differences, and GID is basically highlighting it with good intention, summarizing things into your own words and ideas. For example, taking everything you have learned and then putting it together in a sentence, x is like questioning your understanding and knowledge, wanting to learn more, that is what we're going to be discussing anyway. So with these underlying principles in mind, let's get into the class. 3. Recommended Supplies: Okay, So in this section, I want to talk about the different accessories and supplies you'll need for this class are ones that I recommend. Of course, all you need is an iPad and something to write a stylus width. But I'm really talking about different accessories and itemset will definitely improve your note-taking experience. I'll be using them throughout the class so you might be curious that I'm using. And so that is this. If you already have them materials, that's awesome. But if you just got your iPad, this is perfect for you. And most of the items can be found online, say, like Amazon or Walmart, anywhere like that. So first off is a digital note-taking device. Of course, I've been talking about iPads through everything. But if you have like a Samsung Tab, any of those work as long as it's like as a screen and something you can write with next is an Apple pencil. Of course, like I said, there are tons of other alternatives. For example, you can always get like a cheap stylus. I've used those before. They're actually pretty good. Or the Logitech Crayon that is actually pretty good for your money. They just don't have pressure sensitivity. So when we get to the part about calligraphy on the iPad, you can't do that. But if you're not into calligraphy or any of that stuff that you probably will do find with these at cheaper pencils. Next isn't an Apple pencil case. These are just pieces of silicone that, but you wrap it around your Apple pencil. And I find that it just makes everything a lot more comfortable to write is you're going to be taking a lot of notes or just for long periods of time, it just makes writing a lot more enjoyable. And the Apple pencil is a bowl of metals, so it might be nice to get one of these Apple pencil grips. They also have like sticker vinyl that you can wrap around. I haven't tried those yet, but I heard that they're still pretty good. And I usually find that if you drop your pencil with Priscilla Queen grip, it's usually okay. Nothing bad will happen that if you drop it with other grip, things might get scratched around. But the Apple pencil is very durable. I will say I definitely recommend having a case for like the ergonomics of writing. I'll get into a bit later that also like if you dropped your iPad, if you scratch your iPad, any of that, you want to keep your iPad safe. It's inexpensive device, so we want to have a good case. I like having the ones foldable, three flaps. These allow you to change levels. Next is a keyboard case. It's similar to a normal case, except it has a keyboard attached to it. We're going to have a very small portion about how to take notes on the iPad using different apps. And I'm going to be going into that a bit later, but it's definitely helpful to have a keyboard case. And the one that I have is like a keyboard in the case, so it is super protective. The Apple Magic Keyboard is also a good option, but it's quite expensive and it doesn't actually protect your iPad. Like the edges are going to get scratched if you don't put any protection around it. So that's why I don't have the Apple Magic Keyboard. Next is a screen protector. I personally have the paper like it's a matte screen protector, although there are tons of different other Max green protectors you could choose. I just like having it because of the friction and it helps you write nicer and it just make sure overall note-taking experience a lot more enjoyable, which is what we want to do because sometimes note-taking isn't that much fun, but you have to do it. It kinda provides this friction and it doesn't make it slippery. Although there are glass screen protectors, I definitely recommend getting a screen protector though, because you don't want to crack or scratch your screen if you drop something on it or something got scratched. And then lastly is like a travel case. This is definitely a really optional, but if you have class meetings somewhere to go, you might want to hold your iPad and something comfortable. So that's why I added the case, although definitely not needed. And with that summarize, the most important takeaway is you actually don't need all of these accessories, just the bare bones. It just helps improve your note-taking experience. It makes it a lot more enjoyable. And with that mentioned, let's move on. 4. Basics of GoodNotes App: Okay, So as the iPad is a digital device, you're going to need to download apps. The number one app I recommend is GoodNotes. I always get questions. This what actually I get GoodNotes, GoodNotes, GoodNotes. I cannot recommend anybody there at. It is the most functional, organized, and customizable app I've ever used. I definitely recommend it. It costs about $8, but it definitely is worth the investment. Although I will be in the next section talking about the best free note-taking apps. If you don't want to spend money, there are still some good alternatives. Since this class is for everyone from beginners to advanced, I'm going to be going through a good notes tutorial if you have already used GoodNotes for a while and one skip this over. Feel free to, but if you're new to it, I'm going to be giving you all the basics run down in a quick few minutes. When you open the app, it's fairly easy to do simple things such as creating a folder. And inside those folders, you can create notebooks and put PDFs and files to create a notebook. All you do is press create a notebook and you can choose different types of paper, and especially different types that covers they have tons a selection from the GoodNotes, standard templates. You can also change the size of the page portrait language. So once you get in here, you can actually have different types of pens. First is the fountain pen. This I described basically as having a bit of pressure sensitivity, but it gets you like a bit uneven lines. Next is the ballpoint pen, which I always use, and it just has a straight line with all do the same thicknesses. And lastly is the brush pen, which has different thicknesses depending on the pressure. Another thing is the wide range of color selection. So here when you click on the colors in the top, you can see all these different things and just select them really easily. Next is the eraser. You can erase things pretty fast, inefficiently, pretty simple. Here is the highlighter. It allows you to highlight underneath words, however, it only works on white paper. Here is the shape tool. All you need to do is hold the pen and then just draw the shape and hold it, draws the squares, parabola circles, whatever you want here is the Lasso tool, which allows you to move around. The lasso tool also has a bunch of cool features. For example, you can cut, copy, delete, resize, recolor, take screenshots, error, add elements which we'll be talking about next, so you can change the color of everything. Another thing I really like is how the lasso tool and choose, select certain things. So for example, if you have handwriting selected, it'll only do the handwriting, but if you turn off, it won't be able to do it. Here is elements. Elements are like stickers you can add and keep so you can easily access them from all your notes here I had these anatomy drawing it, stickers and I can just easily access them for whatever notes I'm taking. And it's super simple and efficient. So to add something at two elements, you can either click on the Lassa tool and then add it as an element to whichever group you have. Or you can go into the Elements tab and then create a group from it. Just simply import the photo and then it will be easily accessible from the top bar. Next, we're going to be talking about the Zoom window. The Zoom window allows you to zoom into your writing if you have a smaller iPad, this is definitely very helpful for you. And then it also automatically shifts the lettering so you don't really have to move your hand or scroll, you just keep on writing. All right, So next I'm gonna be talking about some helpful features. First is the search tool. This allows you to store whatever you want in your notes and you can also search within each note. Another cool feature is just changing the settings. For example, you can have the status bar pulled to add page. I always have that. Next are hyperlinks, which basically allow you to hop between different areas of a notebook if it has the hyperlink and turn this on by going into read it in mode and then you can click the hyperlinks. Okay, so with all of the features mentioned that we're next going to move into the free note-taking apps. And I hope you guys enjoyed that tutorial and know how to use everything. Everything I mentioned in this video is covered. 5. Bonus: Best FREE Note-Taking Apps: So today I'll be talking about four of my favorite free apps. I are pretty good. So if you're brand new to iPad note-taking and you still haven't bought any apps yet and you're still on the fence about this. I am here to be your tiebreaker and I'm going to be giving you all these different suggestions for the best free apps and like my personal take on it, why I like it? Oh, I don't like it. Which one that would work best for you? First one is OneNote. You probably have heard of it. It's Microsoft OneNote. It has good customization features you can write, you can do all that. However, importing at PDS is terrible. It just weird. I don't like it. It's not like using a regular document. However, it does have good customization teachers. And if you really don't care about the reading experience or how your notes slug, this is definitely an app for, you know, the ability. It's recently freed, it's very limited, free. So it may be free, but you only get like I think, three notes. So pick and choose wisely, I wouldn't really recommend it, but it's still an option. It adds a great recording feature and basically that's it In my opinion. And it has okay organization. Otherwise, I would not pay the subscription fee unless you only plan on taking a three notes. Next is called a note. I've actually recently found this app about six months ago, new. And it's really good. It's basically like good notes, but like a bit less intuitive, still a really good at tons of customization features. There are even more that good notes, for example, you can change from dark to light paper instantly and the textbook change too. You can also do cool shape drawing. And like the writing experience is really good. It has good organization. And the next is kilo notes. It's a newer app I recently found it. It's similar to GoodNotes. It actually looks exactly like GoodNotes. I think they copied it, but it hasn't very similar feel, it feels really nice to write on. My only drawback would be the organization and like user experience, layout of the app isn't as nice, but it's still really good. So with that mentioned, which one should you get? I would definitely recommend colon note, it's on the rise for being a really good app. 6. Note-Taking Methods: Okay, So next we'll be getting into note-taking methods. I am super-excited to talk about this mainly because it feel something inside me. I just love all the different note-taking methods. It's super creative and you can be super creative to you. So we're going to be getting into this lesson and talking about the different ones. So there are three types of note-taking methods I'll be discussing today. A linear note-taking it, non-linear note-taking. And then the Cornell method from the first section is linear notetaking. There's only one method which is the outline method. You may have already used this. It's very popular. It's just taking notes as you go indenting with bullet points. The word linear is an adjective of the word line. So it's just lines coming after lines. Very simple to do. I'm not going to be adding it into this one much, mainly because you've probably all used it. It's probably the one you currently use or you used a lot in the path. Next is non-linear note-taking. And there are a bunch of different categories inside of this one where I'll talk about different note-taking methods. The first one is mind-mapping. My mapping is, it may seem daunting at first, and I said mind-mapping about a year ago. It seemed very scary and I didn't know what I was doing it, but rest assured, it's actually really fun and it just has like a lot of creativity and just lots of customization for your needs. Basically, ideas are linked to one another starting from the middle and they go out to him branches for like headings and ideas. And you can connect ideas to each other. I would say it's best for reviewing material. So next is flowchart. This is very similar to mine. Nothing except in describes a process in steps where as mind-mapping is more about connecting different ideas together. So personally, I enjoy it for simplifying a complex processes down into steps. And you can branch out and draw different ideas and different pathways. It's, it's great for like showing order within the subjects. And however, it's not as great for structured notes and it doesn't work for everything as not everything has like a process to it. You can always include a notes like do a mini flowchart describing the processes. Okay, so next we're going to be discussing at these slides method. And this is more applicable if you have, let's say, lecture slides and your professor or teacher gives you them in, you're able to annotate them in class with your iPad. So in this method, I'm gonna be giving you more like PowerPoint tips and tricks. Basically, I like this method because it's really fast and efficient. And let's say you don't have time to take linear handwritten notes. You can always just annotate the PowerPoint slides and write down what you need on the side. Although I'm not going to be discussing how to take notes in this section. This is more for the later section about slides note-taking, book pros of this method is that it's super quick, efficient, and it's really easy to do. However, disadvantages of this method include that you might Zomato If you're not taking notes, you're paying attention to the lecture. And so that just like writing down whatever. So it definitely requires a lot more focus, but it can be a lot more efficient in the long-term. The next method is the table method, where you create a table and it's more for comparing it to things like similarities and differences between two different ideas. Although I wouldn't recommend is doing it in a lecture. It's more for like reviewing and comprehending everything as you're comparing, although it's a very structured note-taking style and I wouldn't really recommend it for the majority of notes, but if you know two things are being compared, it's a great method. So optimization for the iPad, it definitely it OneNote is good because they allow you to put tables, but other apps don't let you have tables. So what you can either do is draw your own table or you can use OneNote. For example, on GoodNotes, you can just use the line who will enjoy and like just a vague interpretation of a table. I loved the Cornell Method mainly because IT practices lots of active learning where you're asking questions on one side. So it's formatted via, there's a title at the top. So the Cornell method, it was invented around the 1950s. As the name suggests, Cornell University. It's basically a way to write your notes, but in a lot organized way at that allows you to review and like ask questions and just like get a greater understanding of the material, then you split the page into three equal sections. It depends on what you like. There are, of course, templates down below in the resources if you don't know how to do this anyway. So once you divide it into three sections on one side you have queues. And in this queue section you can put summaries, questions, keywords, anything that's important, but it doesn't really have room on the outline type. And the outline side is where you put your notes. Now usually this is the outline method where you just write it down. But of course you can put like different types of methods. You can put my map, a flow chart, whatever worked mainly it's the outline method and you just take your notes and on each line, like let's say you have a question about a certain point. You you put on the other side, the Q section your question. And then at the bottom you just summarize the entire lecture and in a couple of sentences at two to four sentences is a good start. And I really like this one, it mainly because basically if you can't summarize the notes that you took, maybe you should review some things and it just gives you a good understanding of like what you know, what you don't know and what's next for learning. However, I find that disadvantages of the Cornell method, it's very limiting. Like let's say you have notes that don't have any questions. You just want to take a quick note then you just have this blank column on the side, which can be kind of annoying app sometimes, sometimes I know this would like all the Cornell Method at templates is that it just gives you a summary at the bottom and it assumes your notes are like a certain height and like only like 20 lines, let's say it. So I created this continuous Cornell notes methods. So you can just create however long notes you want. I include that in the resources you are interested in. Then the a, a branch off like a sort of, It's not really the Cornell method, but it's like kinda similar is the t method. And this is like a different method and I only recommend it for, let's say it chemistry and math subjects, ones where there are processes. So basically on one side you have a description of the calculations and then on the other side you have the calculations and you write it down and look at, let's say the professor or teacher says one thing about the calculations going on one side. And then you can put that little note on the other side and then just like illustrate the process and the steps so it's super clear and easy to do. But as I mentioned, I only really recommend this method for calculations. That's why it's sort of a branch off. Okay. And as like a bonus note-taking method and this was one that was like half a note-taking method, the flashcard method. I've been using this a lot more frequently with my biology and like memorization based courses. So active learning is best when you review it with flashcards. So basically all my flashcards, I just write a question and then I get the answer. But then underneath it, I just write like a bunch of different information about it. So every time I flip the flashcard, I can get a bit of information, but it's very disorganized and I wouldn't really recommend it for beginners. It's just a fun way to review active recall, and memorize content a lot more efficiently. So in GoodNotes, you can actually do DIY flashcards with a handwritten methods. So first thing is just create a notebook and make sure you choose the GoodNotes standard paper, scroll all the way to the end and you'll find it the flashcard templates create a notebook with that. And then you'll see the question and answers at the bottom. And this is where you'll write the front and the back of the flashcard. Basically proceed with writing the question on the front and then the information on the bottom of the flashcard, which will be the back of the flashcard. And these are basically like handwritten notes but in a flashcard method. So afterwards you finish that click on the three dots in the corner, then click study flashcards. And this basically allows you to study them. So you just click on it and then you can read it so you can see again, good. If you don't know the question, then keep on trying and it's good for active recall. And so with all the methods mentioned that I definitely recommend you try some out and see what works for you. Most people will stick to the outline method because it's like the easiest, but branch out, see what you like. I really loved the mind-mapping method. I do a lot. And let's move on to the next part. 7. File Organization: So in this next section I'm going to be talking about organization, mainly how to organize your notes, not like the organization on the paper because that's more in how I take notes, which is later on anyway. So in this note-taking organization, I'm going to be talking about different ways to file your notes to make it easier to find. So the first one is having a notebook for each, in each section and you can put all your notes in there and you guys can use a hyperlink notebooks. I linked one in the resources if you want one. And basically it allows you to just quickly skip through the different subjects. So if yeah, like unit one, unit two, unit three, you can just use a hyperlink and easily get to it. You know why labs like tests and assignments, quizzes, all of that. Basically in this hyperlink notebook, I have like a one section, maybe the notes and then the next homework. And then what the hyperlinks, it's super easy to jump in between different sections to get there fast. And then the next method is separating the folders individually. So you have one folder for Unit 1, 1 folder for unit 2, and you put all slides in there. And then for example, like here I have all my different folders for all the subjects they take. And within it I have all the info. And with that is the organization methods. Of course there are a few other, but I just find these work best for me and a bunch of other people do. So that's my personal take. Anyway, let's move on to the next lesson. 8. Paper, Templates & Covers: Okay, so in this next section we're talking about paper. And for some reason I'm so excited about paper and just interested in paper. I'm like a paper phonetic. Okay. So I don't like all about it. What's best, what I do like, what I don't like, and I'll be giving you my personal take on like what paper you should use, different types of paper, all of that. But first I'll be talking about how to make a permanent template for your paper. So let's say you found the one, the paper you want to use go into settings and let's say you only want to use this white good notes paper. You can just click that only. But if you want to use another one, you can scroll all the way to the end to import the paper you want and then make that the default templates. So whenever you do a quick note or make a notebook, it's going to be the automatic paper that appears in GoodNotes. It's really smart ball. So let's say you just want to use a wide range of paper, can add a section for error to the end is so whenever you go into GoodNotes and you want to create a new page you, while you're writing, you can just click in the corner the add page. But Edin, find your paper template super easy because before you would have to lay search through files and do all these hoops. So now it's super simple and easy. So next is at different paper types. First one is grid paper. I absolutely love grid paper. It's the go-to paper I always use. It looks like the most multi-purpose hall like, let's say you're taking math. Perfect. If you're giving biology, It's perfect. Anything you do is perfect for grid paper. And I mainly like this because it has the vertical lines and these vertical lines basically allow me to evenly space my letters and let's say make them more straight. But if you don't really care about how straight your leather star or the spacing, it doesn't really matter. But also when you're drawing diagrams, it helps to have a grid and set a line. I do sometimes use lined paper, although I don't really like it because you can't really space things. There aren't, there isn't a grid to draw things on. But it's great if you're just writing notes. And then a dot, which is at kinda similarity to grid paper, but as dots basically at each intersection it, so it's great if your bullet journaling because it's almost like a blank page and you can you only see the dots. But personally when writing, it's hard to like reach Street on the line because there is no line in between it and I find it hard to write neatly. And also, I prefer like the vertical lines. I don't know, it's just a personal preference, but basically it use whatever you want. These are just five take on what paper I like to paper is sorta like covers basically at Commerce allow you to see your notebook when you first open it. It's the first thing you see that notes allows you to customize this. So basically it has to be a first page. And if you're struggling to do this, here is how to do it. First go into the notebook and then add the template by clicking the Plus in the corner. Choosing Import or image, whatever, like the image you want to import. Let's see, it's this photo and then drag it to the front. So this is the first image and this is the cover you will see and then delete the current cover. And then when you go to the homepage, it's going to be the cover. And of course a good note sounds like tons of free different covers, but I also lost some covers in the resources. Or you can just pull like any random picture you find online and resize it as a PNG anyway. So the main takeaway of that lesson is use whatever paper you find comfortable used whenever you're using it currently now. But I just like grid because it allows you to draw better as more in line so you can plot things more easily and plan things out anyway. So moving on. 9. Color Coding & Scheming: Okay, so the next section is that color scheming. And I think this is a semi important section mainly because when you first look at my notes, What's the first thing you notice? Maybe like the handwriting, but then maybe next, you'll look at the colors. And although color-coding is like an important topic, I'll be talking in this section about how they color code and how to choose colors, what colors are good, all of that good stuff. First thing is go into colors and then add your color by clicking the plus sign and then add the hex codes. In this picture, I have the hex codes along with it, but we'll talk about later. If you don't have the hex codes, add it in and it'll just be automatically there. Once you add all the letters and numbers. You can easily access these colors. However, if you have an image without the hex codes written on it and you just saw a picture you like, click on the image. And then you can go on these websites and they'll give you the hex codes. And then you can split screen along with it and then add the colors this way by going around and seeing what could they give you. So why color scheme your notes first, it makes it easier to organize your notes like on the page. It makes it easier to understand when you stick to a color scheme, and it honestly makes your note-taking experience a lot more enjoyable if your notes look nicer. So how to create an effective color scheme? But first you're going to need some colors. I like going on Pinterest. And then that searching through there I will hold board on colors and just choosing one that I like. Okay, so how to create an effective at color scheme? Basically, I have two tips, choose colors and put them for different areas. For example, you can have one color for titles and one color for definitions, one color for headings and then et cetera. But like different points that you would choose a n, it stick to the system. So for example, in all one note, only choose one color. So when you go through it, you'll be easily able to identify the different information. Also, choosing a few colors maximum, I only choose like three to five colors. Anything else beyond that gets confusing and with GoodNotes is only allows you to put three colors at the top. You can, of course, choose more, but then you'll have to let go in there and like, choose from your presets, which can be a bit of a hassle. Ok. And with that discussed about how to create a color scheme and how to make it an effective one. We'll be moving on to the next section. 10. Highlighting Tips: Okay, so the next section is similar to the color schemes which is highlighting as you highlight in different colors. But in this section I'll be talking about how to highlight effectively. Although as I mentioned, highlighting is a pretty passive learning strategy. So if you're just planning on like highlighting everything, you know, that is not the point. It's to morally highlight in moderation and highlight the important things. I mean that you can look at a page that's blank or you can look at a page with nice highlights. I also should mention highlights only work on like white paper. So sometimes I use black paper, I can't highlight anything. So that's why I instead color it like with the Lasso tool is also super helpful. Let's say you have a lecture and they say to emphasize something that you should, of course highlight that, but more with like note-taking and like, let's say you're taking a white paper, how to highlight effectively and what to highlight. First, we're going to use as King had to highlight and like how to know it's a highlight. So my first tip is highlight in moderation. Basically, less is more. Don't go highlighting everything you don't know because we don't know the entire textbook doesn't mean you need to go highlight every single sentence, the important information and to deduct what's important, basically, I like to ask myself, are they going to test this information like are they going to test this one random fact? Are they going to test like the greater, broader idea? Next, when you're highlighting something that doesn't make sense, don't just highlight something because it doesn't make sense and it looks complicated. And you say, I'll highlight it because I should probably know that when you highlight something, sit there and try to understand it, read the surrounding texts, see what the context is, and the next is highlight with the intention that you're going to look back at the notes on another day and come back and see what stands out because the pointer highlighting is to make things pop out at you. So when you review the notes, let's say a week later, you'll know you'll want to remember them. 11. How I Take Notes (In Different Settings): Okay, so we're next going to be discussing how to take notes and organize it in different settings. So I know that note-taking differs depending on the setting you're in. It's not like some cookie cutter approach is, which is what you mostly see just like say when the title. Now I may be giving you like specific kits for specific settings and when to use them, how to use them, all of them. And basically since the iPad is that transportable device where you can carry anywhere you want, take notes in any area of your life. It's super helpful to have them optimized for the iPad and I'll be telling you about those shadows. So my cookie cutter method, I always start out with the title and then I have the subheading and then I have the points and I always indent it would like different bullet points. So my first one is a DAW and then I had like a little greater than sign like this. And then I add a dash. But like any combination works for you, you could have arrows, whatever you like, but basically just always indent it the same way and a little stay organized and easier to read. So if you only had like dashes, I find it's harder to read. Okay. So my first one is when you're at home, Let's say you have like a paper and my first tip is to split screen the page and then it goes through it and find the title of whatever you're writing, let's say the title of the chapter and that's going to be the title of your notes. And in the textbook headings are going to be the title of your headings in the note and you're going to take notes. I basically like to summarize each paragraph. You can into like three sentences. And then I basically like to take what I learned from the textbook or let's say the slides in different sources and like amalgamated together to make quick to read sentences. So if you see any like highlighted, the terms are formulas that you should write that down. I like writing my formulas in a box. And Fred the definitions, I like putting it in a specific color as mentioned before, or like highlighting over them. Another tip is I like highlighting with ideas in mind. So for example, if you're going to highlight something, all definitions in one color, key dates in another color, formulas and another color to make a really organized in like cohesive workflow. And if there are any formulas, I put that in the box or like any important definitions. And then below it, I like to put an arrow specifying what the terms mean and each of them a similar but like lazier method and for taking notes from like a paper or textbook at home is the sticky note method. Basically, you can take sticky notes. I left them in the resources if you are interested in these ones. And then just summarize the paragraph into like one or two sentences, makes it super easy to look at. And just like when you're scrolling through, you have basically really condensed notes. Usually this method is like an irregular textbooks and people just put sticky notes, actual sticky notes on the side. But since this is digital and you can have digital stickers, it works like this too. So in the GoodNotes tutorial, we talked about how to add stickers. So once you added your stickers, you can just easily access them. And I use this method to simplify textbook paragraphs. And I do it in like three sentences. Basically take the main ideas from the paragraphs into a little sticky note and it makes learning super easy. And you can move this all around you want with the lasso tool. And then just some random tips when taking those at home is he wants to save a lot more space. You can actually put a line through the middle or just like an invisible one and you've got a lot less space. I noticed another one is if you want to save, you can write it two lines, points per square per line. And basically this just saves you like double the space, I guess. So another method is from PowerPoint slides similar to like at home notes or like let's say this is intellectual. Basically what I like to do is don't call me everything you see because that will just take you a very long time in. I'd never cut copy everything. Word by word. The title of the PowerPoint or lecture slide is going to be the title of your notes. Each heading of the slide is just going to be a title in your notes. And I happen to like actually doing this is formatting for slides per page. I know this like in university, you're often given like really long slides and you're meant to look through that and it just can be a real household or scrolling through the entire thing, taking notes. What I like doing is going on this website and then it converting it into a four-page PDF and it just makes everything super simple, okay, and inside your PowerPoint you might have like diagrams. Let's say you can of course, like draw your own, which you'll be discussing a bit later on. Or you can just screenshot it and then crop it into your notes. And then also a little tip is if you're a white paper and you want to make it look a bit nicer. You can put a little box around the picture and it just helps differentiate everything. So in this part I'm going to be talking about how to make your PowerPoints more condensed. And I find it makes it feel shorter even though it's the same link. I like going to the sludge site. And basically I turn it the long PDFs into four PDFs per page. And you can change all these settings around there. Pretty simple, like what paper size would you want? What are the margins, the inner outside, things like that. It's very simple. And then upload your PDF and then convert it and it'll just automatically do it. Okay, So next is in-class PowerPoint slides. Let's say you're in a class and they have lecture slides going through. Basically I just download the PDF and then you just annotate the sides. So what I like to annotate, I write down three things. What the lecturer emphasizes, things like Joe mentioned in the slide, but they elaborate on something you're confused, dat. So for example, there is something there describing and then they add clarity to the topics. So before the lecture, if you like, web through it and had a few questions, you could see that or if you just confused about search insensitive, write down what they clarify and then any questions you have, let say you could search somewhat later, asked Professor later, look through the textbook for it. And a random tip is, I like using the color red or just something that's not block when annotating PowerPoint, I noticed like all Texas and black. So just kinda makes it harder to differentiate, use red, blue, whatever you like. So as mentioned in the slides method, I put everything into groups of four. You can also do six or three depending on how much space you like to write. And since the iPad is just awesome military zoom into things. So if it's a bit small at four pages, you can also zoom in to each page. This is what I've been doing all throughout university is just four slides. Okay, So the next one is, as I mentioned, what if your professor doesn't give you any lecture slides and you're meant to copy everything down. I call this like the chicken scratch method. If they're going really fast, you just write down what you possibly can. And if you do have notability, it would work really well to just record what they're saying. Make sure you have their permission though, as you can't really record people without their permission. And anyway, so I like writing down things they say that are important right down the main concept, main ideas. And then since it's like all chicken scratch and you really can't understand it. This is like the only time I find it suitable to rewrite your notes by also like combining it with the lecture notes and the textbook notes and like different sources to amalgamated into one. And this is more like active recall because you're summarizing what you learned and what you did before and you're making them a bit neater so you can read them later on. And the chicken scratch method is basically good for any fastest setting at something or you can't write me where you need to just get things down quick. Okay, So then lastly is a group discussion setting. Let's say you're taking notes from various sources of people talking. And basically what I like to do is differentiate each person that buys a different color. So for example, one person is black me and another person is red, blue, green, whatever you want, and write down your ideas in one color and their ideas in another color. And basically, you can synthesize that I like Notability for this if you have it. And you can basically record everything at the top. But good notes is also good for this as you have three colors at the top to easily switch three or so note-taking methods for this, you can obviously use the outline method, but actually at Cornell Method, is it pretty good because you can put questions on the side. Let's say someone's talking for the question that you have to ask them or put a little note they put down anything like that and then summarize at the end. Or you could do a mind-map or you have where you have like the meeting at title in the middle and each person branching out and all their ideas coming from one another. So you can have like the participants and then each point they say ideas, they put connecting it to each other with arrows. It's really about synthesizing the notes into one cohesive note. And with that, we covered all the different note-taking settings. You can possibly take notes in. 12. The Note-Taking Thought Process: Okay, so in this next section we're talking about the note-taking process. And basically this is what goes through my head from the beginning to the end of note-taking. This is more like students focused as I'm a student and this is what I do when I take notes generally. So before I start the lecture, I like to go through everything and get a broad idea of what the notes are like. You can just like go straight and of course, and start taking notes, but I find it can just be really disorganized. Like my head is all over the place, looks through their vocabulary, skim through and get an idea of what's going on basically. And then go ahead and think about some questions you have if you do about the materials. So you can ask during the lecture or like meeting wherever you guys are at. So of course during the lecture you'll want to be taking your notes and be sure to take like idea of the QRS. So for example, if someone says like, you should remember this, this is important, stuff like that. You should probably write it down beside you notes, maybe in the cues if you're doing Cornell note-taking section or get the main ideas. The main ideas are ones that are emphasized first and usually people will trail off afterwards, they get the main ideas. So like you can write those down, but if it's not necessary, you don't. And using whether the structures I mentioned before that will work well for your lectures. And when your lecture as an issue, you might think you're done taking notes, but the real job isn't done yet. At the end you should go in and add some finer detail of like, let's say abbreviation to use and you didn't know what they meant to or I like questions you had and they answered or anything just like little small things and then review your notes right after it looks through everything that, because the curve of forgetting basically states that you'll keep on forgetting things as time goes on. But the more you review it, like closer to the day you learned it, the less you will forget. And then with any questions you have, if you still adopt them an answer and I go and ask them, go research whether it is. And this ensures that you really consolidate your learning with the notes and this process of like before, during and after. Of course that might be a bit much for every single now, but I tried to include this in all the lecture notes I take, of course was sometimes I can forget. I might be busy. I might not have time to do it, but this is like the general guideline you want to follow when you take notes. 13. Handwriting Tips: In this next part, we're going to be talking about how to take neater or more legible notes. As you may know, I take really nice notes and I do this so I can understand things better and it just nicer to review and look at while also, yeah, like really messy handwriting. It can be really hard to understand everything. So I'm going to be teaching you a few notes. And plus when you get the iPad, it's like this shiny surface. And we've all written on paper which has his tactile feeling. But I'm going to be teaching you a bunch of different tips that will make grading a lot here. And then at the end I'll also be giving it fast handwriting tips. So these are like in a rush as I mentioned, like chicken scratch notes, just like writing everything down as fast as you can, but you still want semi legible writing, so well, first off, start with the types of pens on GoodNotes. They usually have a bunch of different sizes from like 0.1 millimeters to two millimeters. What I actually like writing is between 0.4 millimeters and 0.6. I find that is the best thickness. Anything outside of that range either gets too thin and it looks kinda like spaghetti or like string. And personally I don't like that, but I guess it's all personal preference. And when you get to like 0.70.8, it gets so thick, It's hard to write and you have to write either really big or at your letters are going to be really squished together and harder to read. There are other types of pens that the calligraphy pen and then the felt-tip pen. I would personally it stay away from those when writing only unless you want to do calligraphy or like fountain pen work. I just find like the unevenness makes it look kinda messier. But if you're looking for that sort of appeal of the different stroke thicknesses, by all means, go ahead and use it. And then next we'll be talking about how to use the specific accessories to improve your handwriting. For example, the Apple pencil grip. Of course, it just makes it writing a lot near and you're able to grip it in a more comfortable way. I find, and after long periods of time, your handwriting, it may get sloppy because your hand is hired or it's uncomfortable on the pencil. So having that grip really makes it more comfy. Next is the iPad case. I like having optimal writing out like ten degrees, I would say. I just lifted up a little bit and then you get like a little tilt. And I guess it's more ergonomic to write like that until like facing straight down over a year, like sort of tilted your head over. You can do it like even more lifted up, but then I find it gets unstable and it's just not as comfortable in my risk kinda hurts. Sci-fi like a little elevation makes it work. And that's why I have the three folding case which allows that. And then lastly, the matte screen protector. I personally use the paper like and I like you because it has a tactile feel. It's better than most of the other ones I've tried out. It's better than the other ones I tried out that are cheaper, but I find the paper like it just has a lot of friction and you're able to write a lot neater then let's say on that glass where it's a bit slippery because we've never written on it before. But if you don't want to get a matte screen protector because it does dim the screen a little bit. You can always just use the glass and it does still have a bit of friction. So next I'll be giving you tips to optimize your iPad writing experience. But these are things you can change within those settings. For example, changing the positioning on the iPad. There are different hand positioning you can do and it'll just help with the hand palm rejection. Next is your grip positioning. For some reason, like people all use the tripod method. I use like a variation, but personally I just think use wherever you want. Just hold it in a way that's comfortable for you and like sorta ergonomic. So my pencil here, I don't, I wouldn't recommend holding it like this or like in any weird positions, but like something that's comfortable for you to write it. Next is using the zero-point five millimeter ballpoint pen, as mentioned previously in the pen settings. And then afterwards I would use the Zoom window. It's helpful if you have a smaller iPad size because it lets you zoom into things and when you write a cross, you don't have to keep on scrolling. It'll just automatically go back and forth for you as and then using only at grid paper spacing, as I mentioned, the paper section, I just like it because it allows you to write straight up and down and also have even spacing between your letters. And then using your iPad horizontally, many people use their iPad vertically like a piece of paper, I guess. And that makes a lot of sense coming from like paper. But if you actually tilt it horizontally, you can have a lot more width. And this makes it easier to read across the page and has a lot more space to. And then lastly is if you have time, you can always check out practice sheet. I left them in the resources below so you can practice your calligraphy, handwriting, whatever you want us to get it just like once over, you get like the feel of the different letters and then you can translate that into your own handwriting. So next is fast handwriting tips. This is like the chicken scratch lecture. As mentioned, these are what I do and like a fast-paced heading where you carry need it's impossible to, and I just let my handwriting it to the right of it so you can get that natural flow of handwriting, but you can splint it to the left. I just find it's a bit weirder, so I always like sending it to the right. And the other one is at trying different apps. If you are trying like free apps out like color note, keynotes or OneNote or no ability even I find they all have different writing experiences. And if you don't really mind the difference between them, you can always go in and test them out, see which one at your handwriting is the nicest and then use that for some reason that I find that notability actually has the nicest handwriting, but that's a personal preference. Next day's it using abbreviations and symbols. For example, when I'm in a lecture, I never write like if a process leads to another, I always do an arrow. Or if it's like the word and I like using the ampersand or different things like greater than, you always use the side or like increasing, you use the arrow up. All of that. Next is trying cursive. It may be messy at first, but if you can read it and it's legible for you, that's all that really matters in my sense because basically every time you lift a pennant, you're taking more time. And then lastly, if it's just going way too fast, why don't you type your notes, which we'll be talking about very soon. And I hope that you've learned to maybe take a faster notes in that setting. And then lastly, as I mentioned, we'll touch on how to use the calligraphy pen on goodness. So I'm not going to go super in-depth into like how did you calligraphy, what's like, they'll all the details. These are basic explanation that there are tons of different classes on Skillshare about calligraphy and like the nitty-gritty details. So for example, I basically like to start out with this. So we're going to be going through quick rundown of how to do calligraphy stroke practice. So this is the basis of all calligraphy. And so for down-strokes, what you do is push down hard when there's a stroke that goes down and push up lightly when there's a stroke that goes up and basically try to connect this. And then one thing you can change the brush pen. They have different settings, so like pressure sensitivity, if you have it on low pressure sensitivity, this means that when you press down, it won't be as thick and the contrast between the strokes will be a bit less, whereas higher pressure makes the downstrokes a lot more thicker. And this makes the contrast between the up and down strokes greater. It's all about personal preference though. I find it doesn't really make a difference. It's just about what works for you. And if you really want to speed up your calligraphy practice, I recommend using practice sheets, as I mentioned there in the resources. But it basically just helps you learn what the strokes are and how to do calligraphy in so many people have found that practice sheets really help speed up the process and make sure you know how to do it. Honestly, I'm just sometimes way too lazy to do my own calligraphy. So I actually created a calligraphy font of my own handwriting and it's just super fast and efficient. I linked it down below. But anyway, once you've optimized stroke practice and just practicing your letters, you'll be able to put everything together to create calligraphy. It takes a lot of practice though, and I would recommend spending a bit of time if you really want to work on it. To consider before the angle this lesson, your handwriting doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be legible for you. And one thing you want to look out, one that you like, and as long as you can read it and decipher it, that's what's important, but learning to make your handwriting even nicer is a good start. 14. Visual Note-Taking & Diagrams: So in this section I am so excited to talk about how to take more visual notes and how to take diagram. So if you're unsure of what visual notes are, visual notes are basically no code diagrams, color sketches, connectors, things that connect ideas together to make it more visually appealing, engaging. And so you understand the information barrier as its mark clear with more detail, visual note-taking as a fun process, it can be messy, it can have mistakes, but it's about the ideas you present rather than the art, but overall just helps you out a better understanding of your notes. So here are some elements to maybe include when you're drawing visual notes are a sketch noting, as some may call it, first is having that popping out text. And this is one of the most important features you always see my titles, they look pretty cool. These are a few ideas of how to do this. It basically sets the tone of the hierarchy of information that from most important you'll get the fanciest are nice as title that stands out. Whereas like less important information, you'll get simpler titles for title ideas that there's this up I like called GoDaddy studio, and it has tons of different title and text ideas. Of course it's optional, but basically go in there, create a transparent PNG, and then write down the title of your notes and then just scroll along and they have tons of different fonts that they don't have on GoodNotes. So that's why I really like this one and then just go ahead and save it and make a few of them if you want. I'm gonna be showing you a bunch of different title ideas. First is a block letter using the thickest pen setting. And then a fun variation is you can write a cursive little thing going through it. Here are the titles we made in GoDaddy studio. They're super simple. I just stretch them out to the size. Next here is a calligraphy from the calligraphy practice we were talking about. It's super simple and easy to do. Here is like a block letter. Basically, I took the letter but I traced like the outside and basically it creates a fun outline letter. Here next is a cursive lettering, super simple and easy. All these fun, easy and aesthetic title ideas. Let's move on next are containers. Containers are basically boxes around ideas, are like circles at things that are bolded for your information. Next is having connectors and things that connect ideas together. So like arrows, arrows that bounce, basically showing how the process is related to one another. Another element is having a color, as we mentioned in the color scheming part, it's good to have a cohesive color scheme that goes in ties everything together. And then lastly is having sketches or like diagrams to show what the entire idea I'll be going next into how to draw diagrams like super easily. So when you always see my notes, you can at my diagrams to me like those look nice. How do you do them? So here are a few tips about how to do. I have four methods for you guys today, and they're pretty simple and easy, ranging from like a bit easier to a bit more complex. It takes a bit more time, but it depends on like how much time you have, what's your budget? First is the silhouette method. Basically I find an image that I like on the internet and then I go and trace it basically with a white pen or black pen depending on what type of paper you're using. And it's super simple, efficient, and quick. And then take the lasso tool, ensure handwriting is off, turn on images and then delete that images and you'll be left with an outline of the image. And next one is the highlighter method. Basically, since the highlighter goes underneath the black, you can just highlight it. Another little hack is just using a sticker. So for example, I provided my biology seekers instead of drawing it, you can just paste it in super quick, inefficient and easy. And lastly is using a background remover, find a background remover app on the App Store and then upload your image and there won't be any background left. So you'll have like this nice PNG that can be easily inserted into your notes. And I hope you enjoyed this lesson about how to visual note-taking and take near notes with more diagrams that stand out which will help you definitely improved comprehension of the information and just learn the information in a more engaging and effective way. 15. Typing Notes: Draw this entire lesson I've been talking about taking handwritten digital notes as that's what we commonly use the iPad for. But since the iPad has a keyboard and a lot of the times you can connect to Bluetooth ones. I'll be touching quickly on how to type notes and how to do this in an effective way on like GoodNotes and the different digital note-taking apps in a bunch of different tips along with that, as I mentioned, it's best in something that's going really fast paced or something if you just don't want to read at home or if your find your handwriting isn't the nicest and you want neater notes. But I also like about the typing feature is that you can incorporate handwritten and typing. So for example, if you're typing on, let's say Microsoft Word, you can't really draw arrows to things. You can't really insert pictures easily without messing everything up. I know it's super annoying, but in good notes you can type a little bit. Maybe hand-write something that draw something and then type again, or maybe start handwriting. Everything is that it's very comprehensive and like cohesive, integrating different ideas together. And then a fun part of this is, this is how to make your own a handwritten font. There is this app called calligrapher, and it basically allows you to download this template and upload it and make your own handwriting fonts. So let's say you don't have the best handwriting. You still want to have that handwritten element of it. I also love my font in the resources if you're interested. Okay, so now we're going to go through the process of making your own fonts. So I have my iPad out and I'm just going hit up the template first. You have to go and take calligrapher, make a free account, and then choose all the letters you want. In the free version, you're only limited to 75 words, but I've provided my free font in the resources below, so you can check that started by adding the letters to the template and then delete five characters. This font might be super limited. So that's why I provided my font because the free version doesn't allow you all these characters. However, I've a paid version because I use it quite a bit. And then it download it as a PNG or PDF. And then you can also put draw help lines and characters as background as it just helps make it a lot more easier to draw with. You'll find the PDF or a PNG here. So once you have downloaded at the template from calligrapher, you're going to import it into GoodNotes or whenever you app you like. And then once you import that, start tracing the letters and it's super easy to draw like your normal handwriting or hydraulic, the handwriting you want to be in the font. And it's just a fun activity to do. So once you do that, expert, all click images, PDF, whatever works, and then go back to the app and then it go into my fonts and then click new font and then name the font, whatever you would like. Then import and upload your PDF by choosing the file, add characters it to your font, and then create the font, build font. Once your font is built, then you'll just click on the top where it says font files download the TTL for OTF. It really doesn't make a difference. And then you'll find the font in your downloads. And then you'll want to download this app called iPhone. But anyway, share the font to the app and then press Install and then click Allow, close, and then go to your Settings and you'll find it in VPN and device management in general. And allele will have these and downloaded profiles. Click on the profile, click Install. You might have to enter your password if you have one, and then it'll be super easy. You can start using it in GoodNotes seamlessly. You normally can't import the font into GoodNotes like straight away, you need to download it through iFont and then you can add proper spacing. So every time you type it'll be aligned to the letters. And you put this spacing and you save as default. So every time you type it will be there. And what that we went through, how to import your fonts into different apps, how to make your own font and how to type notes like this. I hope you enjoyed this lesson and we'll be moving on to the project or the take notes. 16. Class Project: Take Notes With Me: So in this last section, we're just going to be taking notes. I'll be going through the process of what goes through my mind and you guys can take notes with me, post your notes in the resources so everyone can see and I can comment on them. And then, yeah, so let's get into that. So basically you can include all the different elements we discussed in this class. And an include the inside your notes the next time you take notes and then post it for everyone to see it so you can participate in this class. First off, I started with a title, it's one I made myself. So I guess we're incorporating the calligraphy and font design process in this. Next, I then took a sticker of a kidney inserted into the no, and then along with that, I labeled everything until the writing process. I went with a flowchart to describe the process and sequence that blood goes through. Also using the Lasso tool to rearrange and reorganize things. I then use the lasso tool to recolor things as its easier than switching intermittently, I use different colors to easily differentiate all the different information so it contrasts well, afterwards I added in this smaller details that I forgot to put in. Next, I started writing notes, but this time I use the outline method and I incorporated another diagram so that the texts correlates to the picture with arrows. And I also label it too. And today, here is the final notes. And I hope you enjoyed this lesson about my note-taking process. 17. Final Notes: And with that, we have finished the class. We have covered everything from getting started, two different note-taking methods to app walk-throughs to how to take notes, handwriting templates and so much more. I hope you share what you have learned in the projects tab and share some inspiration with other people too. And if you are interested in more, you can always check out my social media sites like my youtube, Instagram for more information and just come and say Hat, hope you feel more knowledgeable and using these apps that the note-taking process and different methods of note-taking. If you are going to take one thing away from this class, it's that I hope you can take better notes and you can conquer the world one iPad at a time. Thank you.