Slide design

[Sean Kelly]

== Quote from Daniel de Kok (me at danieldk.org)'s article
> On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 11:55 AM, Daniel Keep
> <daniel.keep.lists at gmail.com> wrote:
> > The subjects I did the best in and learned the most at uni were the ones
> > where I didn't *have* to take notes and could concentrate on what the
> > lecturer was trying to teach us.
> Indeed, if writing down notes is required, then the reading material
> for the course is not complete and that should be addressed. A course
> should bring a student up to the level where he or she can read and
> understand course material without too much effort.

Some professors seem to think that lecturing about material that isn't
presented anywhere else will force students to attend class.  But in my
experience it also creates a class that takes notes furiously rather than
engaging the material and asking questions.  Overall, I think it's a
counterproductive strategy.

Often in universities these days there are professional note takers as
well, and a student can pay a classmate for copies of their notes.  My
wife found this useful because various physical issues made it difficult
for her to sit at a desk and write for an hour straight, though I'd
probably be inclined to do the same simply so I could pay attention.

As for writing aiding retention in general, I've found that to be true
but it's only something I ever did while studying (taking notes on
reading or re-writing notes relevant for an exam).  If I'm taking
notes in class the information seems to pass through my ears to
the page without ever coming in contact with my brain.