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Like many people, I prefer to take notes on my computer rather than writing with a pen or pencil because I can type much faster than I can write longhand. The authors report on a study which indicates conceptual understanding is deepened when one takes notes by hand. The study points to benefits resulting from a greater level of "encoding" of the information because of "selective strategies" employed when a person can't simply type everything verbatim.

This article does not address the reasons why faculty restrict access to technology in the classroom, such as distraction or the confusion of dictation for note taking, but it does present an interesting model for how technology could be used better to create a backchannel for a course through student collaboration.

Should you give your students your PowerPoint slides? The jury is still out on that one, but this article does list a few classroom strategies you can use to teach students what "good notes" really are and how they should be taking them and studying with them.

Cult of Pedagogy editor-in-chief Jennifer Gonzalez reviews research on note taking from the past three decades and revises her own principles for how to help students organize and recall what they are learning.

Universal design for learning ultimately saves labor, and benefits all learners in the class. "So if I take a little more time and effort to make my writing large, legible, and organized on the white board, I am going to help the student with visual impairments - but I'm also going to help everyone in the room take better notes on our discussion. If I take the time to create slides with a minimal amount of text or images - and then encourage students to take their own notes by filling in the examples and ideas from the lecture or discussion - I'm helping everyone push beyond simply copying down lecture notes and regurgitating the course content."

We have some students using LiveScribe pens, so they can have the experience of taking notes by hand and the benefits of digitized notes and synchronized audio recordings.

Interesting stuff in this article, from managing what can seem like a torrent of feedback, to thinking about the ways that different people respond to the same comments, to the metacognitive exercise of thinking about your own reactions. It's also worth noting that these tips come from a book that's not just for students - and the techniques might be useful for faculty and staff too.

A report of a conference session in which a philosophy professor at John Carroll University presented her use of thought experiments as a signature pedagogy in her classes. (Also note the use of flipped classroom approaches to make the class time for the students to engage in the thought experiments.)

When you borrow an assignment or part of the course structure from a colleague, do you note that on your syllabus? Do you make your syllabi (or other writeups of your course activities) available to your colleagues? What would happen if you did?

If a student's level of academic stress is one reason they abuse "study drugs" like Adderall or Ritalin, then pedagogies which reduce stress might have a positive impact on this campus health issue. Also note the point that just being more focused doesn't make cramming a productive study technique...

This professor commits to listening to students' conversation by appointing himself note-taker, which frees him from the role of "conversation guide".

Interesting ideas here about the value of requiring students to annotate their own work and the sources they consult. Note the point that these professors actually dedicate regular class time to the exercise.

Jose Bowen, president of Goucher College and author of the book _Teaching Naked_, is starting a 5-part series on liberal arts education as the "degree of the future". In part one, I'd note the implied difference between "critical" and "creative" thinking.

Might be relevant to the "typed vs. handwritten notes" debate. Maybe students should be drawing a lot more pictures in their notebooks!

Lynn Gillette uses a definitional grading system to prioritize meaningful preparation for class. His Class Preparation Assignments (don't call them homework!) help students learn to read disciplinary material, serve as a structure for better note taking, and allow for more discussion and active learning in his classes.

A wide range of resources in this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed (and linked from the Show Notes page), covering everything from inclusion and accessibility to "what dates does my T-R class meet this semester?"

"Rechtschaffen (2014) notes that "Students are told to pay attention a thousand times in school, but rarely are they taught how" (p.10), and we have observed that before our focusing activities students generally seemed distracted, stressed, and irritated. After the focusing activity, their posture became more relaxed and they seemed more receptive to learning."

This is described as "a work in progress" and "current status: brain dump" (6/24 3PM), and as such there are a couple head-scratchers on this reading list. At the same time, it's a fascinating example of digital collaboration as teachers work toward classroom discussions of current events.

First, the title of this article caught my eye. Then the "new" definition of Digital Humanites caught my attention. Finally the author's comments caught me off-guard. I think people should read this for the initial content (what's promised by the title and the leading question). Also people might want to think about whether some of Sathian's remarks cross a line into stereotyping and racism.

A catalog of resources for the Digital Humanities (um, sorry, Digital Liberal Arts). Use the Search feature to find entries for tools you might want to consider for your project. (Note: we cannot vouch for all of these tools, and some of them are defunct. However, this is a great starting point.)