Blogging for notetaking and reflection
What is a blog? While many people define a blog as an online diary or journal, really it’s just a convenient, chronologically organized, web publishing tool. You can certainly use it as a diary or journal, but it can also be a newsletter (the function of my Frequently Answered Questions), a presentation (see here and here for good examples), a gallery (self-promotion, here), novels, I’ve even tried a CV. The point is that blog platforms offer web publishing without having to know HTML (or have a web publishing software), without having the cost of a site (there are many free blog hosts), and with the ease of being able to publish from any web-accessible computer.
If you can publish pretty much anything in a blog, respecting your blog hosts Terms of Use and general copyright laws, you can use a blogging tool for notetaking. If you have an Internet computer handy in the place you are taking notes, you can type right into the blogging tool and have “live” notes. Otherwise, use the blog as a place to reflect and organize your thoughts afterward. This is perfect for the Reflect part of the Cornell Method of Note Taking or similar systems.
Reflection is a valuable part of the learning process. You go beyond memorization, and put the information into terms that make sense for you. How does this apply to your studies, job, or life? How does this relate to other things you’ve learned? Not only does the information become more useful, because you’ve thought about how it applies to you and what you know, but it also becomes easier to remember.
If having your class or research notes online for all the world to see makes you nervous, then take advantage of the privacy and/or draft functions available in most blogging platforms. In edublogs.org blogs, like this one, I could password protect a post. In Blogger (blogspot.com) blogs, I could use the Save as Draft function. When I downloaded the Opera web browser, I had the opportunity to start a blog that has private access functions. LiveJournal (popular with teens and students for personal use) also has privacy functions. Those are just a few examples.
You can also use a blog for collaboration. Group blogs allow all members to post. Or other group members can comment on your notes (if you turn on the commenting feature available on most blogs).
