Uncategorized | Oct 10, 2013
Why using a camera to take notes is smart, not lazy
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Why using a camera to take notes is smart, not lazy
By Angela Watson
What’s your first impression of this image?
When I shared it on Facebook recently, some pretty passionate responses were sparked. A number of teachers thought that students taking notes with phone and tablet cameras was a useful strategy, but they were far outnumbered by dissenters. Some commenters viewed it as evidence of bad teaching, kids’ laziness, and/or the dumbing down of the next generation. Most people who objected pointed out that writing things down helps students to memorize and creates new neural pathways: they view note taking as an integral part of the lesson, not busywork.
Here’s my take it.
The image is meant to be humorous. I’m not making the assumption that any teacher actually allows students to sit around passively and listen to a lecture, snap a photo of a slide at the end, and then walk out the door. Who’s to say students hadn’t taken detailed notes throughout the lesson and then used their phones to capture the assignment so they could be sure they had the details correct? What if the teacher’s lesson required students’ total focus and note taking would have interfered not only with their comprehension, but with the pacing of the lesson? After all, writing things down takes some kids a looong time and causes them to fall so far behind the teacher that they miss the whole lesson.
I don’t think anyone would disagree that we need to teach kids note taking skills, but it’s my perspective that taking photos can actually enhance that process. Our intent is to prepare students to be successful outside of school as well as in it. We need to teach real world skills. And in the real world, people use their phones to make life easier. I’ve been in plenty of staff meetings and business meetings in which people took pictures of slides and even handouts. I use my phone camera to take pictures of product info when shopping instead of writing down model numbers and prices, to capture recipes I see in magazines, and to have access to maps and directions that I would have otherwise had to hand-copy or print out. Camera phones are one of the best and simplest tools we have today, and each year, more and more of our students have access to them. Why not harness that available technology and use it to their advantage?
The real question I think we should be answering is this: how do we teach students to take notes in the 21st century? It might be instinctual for kids to whip out a device and take a snapshot, but I’m willing to bet that most of them don’t have a system for finding and using those images for studying later on. Similarly, most of them aren’t savvy with writing things down and using their notes to help them study.
So, part of our job is to help our students think critically about the pros of and cons of written note taking and pictures/video, choose when to each each method, and learn how to reference and organize all of their notes so they can be of use later on. Yes, that will take some additional time out of our instructional day. But think about how many hours we’ll be gaining by teaching kids to make the note taking process more efficient and meaningful.
What’s your perspective? How do you teach students to take notes in the 21st century?
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
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Let’s see. I can take a top down approach, and be the “sage on the stage”, the keeper of all knowledge. I can have students write down what I think the most important things are so they can memorize them for the test. That test will include only some of the important facts, and those students who are to stupid or lazy to take good notes or who memorize the wrong things for that test will not be able to take notes at a higher level of “education”. Only those who do exactly as I say, and do things as I expect them to can become successful members of society.
Or
I can teach.
This is a great question! And one I’ll need to give more thought to – although our school doesn’t allow cell phones in class at this point.
We are at such an exciting (although sometimes intimidating) time in education – the Information Age is so new and the transitions are happening so quickly – and we are pioneering a whole new era of education……The old Industrial Age conventions need to be examined and a lot of them can be eliminated or improved. But at the same time we do need to be careful to keep the core values and truths that are unchanging.
I completely agree that many students, especially those in jr. high or even high school don’t have the follow through when it comes to taking notes via pictures. Sure, I use my camera all the time at PD sessions but I recognize that after the session, I need to re-read, summarize & make use of the information that I collected. I am not sure that it is a skill that can always be taught. Sometimes, it is a matter of maturity & authentic learning. As a professional, I understand the need to follow up with my learning. Many students to do have that motivation, desire or sense of urgency.
I would argue that the students who don’t have “the follow through” to review their notes on their phone likely don’t have the follow through to follow up with what they have written down.. Plus, photos can be backed up “in the cloud”. Binders and loose leaf paper can’t.
I completely agree with the idea that photos can be backed up where binders and loose leaf paper cannot. And, to be honest, I don’t think many of my students ever go back and look at their notes that I’ve made them take, anyway. I have found much more success with having the class notes on my blog. Many of my students will go on-line to look through the examples, thought they won’t do the same with their written notes. This is an interesting time with technology and education.
I’m wondering about developmental stages and how that comes into play here. Do you think there is merit in having young children (K – 4) concentrate only on written notes, gradually giving them an understanding of possible ways to collect information, while they are still developing literacy skills? Then they could move to the more complex varieties in middle school/high school. Would a child who never experienced the work it took to write out notes, fully grasp the benefit of the phone method?