Computer Science - How to study it and take notes ? (OCR)

I had these problems in GCSE...I really don't want them to start again.

-> Lateness and bad first impressions
We had our class 3 lessons late and this seemed to make everyone around me not motivated. In class, our teachers make us feel this way sometimes too. How do I keep motivated and keep learning when they go slow like this?

-> Notes everywhere.
We have so many resources that...it can be too much for me. We have the internet,textbooks,powerpoint presentations and our notebooks. It is too much! They tell me to write it in different places that this all gets messed up and out of track.

-> Processing information and time management
I know that A-Level is a big step from GCSE. Yet, they go a bit too quick during the presentation that I feel that the time is wasted and I have to do it another time. Or other times the activities are slow and a bit pointless of time and I have to do my own research on the topic as a whole..

Reply 1

Binary Freak

Original post by BernLee

Can't really comment much on the notes since I've never taken notes. However, might be worth speaking with the teachers for CS and asking them whether they put the Powerpoint presentations on VLE (Moodle) before the actual class itself begins. Then you can print out the presentation and take notes on that (It's what I'd do), but best bet is go with what's best for you and stick with it.
P.S: Notes are useless if you never read them, a lot of people seem to have the funny idea of taking notes then NEVER reading them.

As for processing and time management, take notes on the class outline, spend an hour or two at the end of the day reviewing what you know and don't know.

Honestly, most teachers have some stupid studying ideas that it's almost unreal same goes for lessons.

Reply 2

Jooooshy

Original post by BernLee

How do I keep motivated and keep learning when they go slow like this?

You have to motivate yourself (duh!). Explore topics outside of the syllabus, if you're not feeling challenged enough. Program in your spare time. Take online courses. Read a technical book. There are loads of ways to stay motivated.

-> Notes everywhere.

Buy a folder. Print notes and organise them. It is your job to stay organised. Too many notes is better than too few.

-> Processing information and time management
I know that A-Level is a big step from GCSE. Yet, they go a bit too quick during the presentation that I feel that the time is wasted and I have to do it another time. Or other times the activities are slow and a bit pointless of time and I have to do my own research on the topic as a whole..

I can empathise, because this is how I used to feel in nearly every lecture at uni. The only way to get over it imo is to read ahead. The materials are a lot easier to digest if you have already glanced over them. Just skimming through the notes will normally identify a part you don't quite understand which you can then read up on, which means you won't be left behind during class while you scratch your head trying to understand!

Original post by Binary Freak

P.S: Notes are useless if you never read them, a lot of people seem to have the funny idea of taking notes then NEVER reading them.

I think you should always make some notes of your own, even if you don't plan to read them again later. Imo it helps to retain information, and often in an exam I'll see something and remember noting it down in lecture. I rarely sit there and seek enlightenment from a part of the notes the lecturer skimmed over but I didn't bother to jot down because it was comprehensible. But hey, that could just be me :tongue:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

Binary Freak

Original post by Jooooshy

Probably depends on the nature of the course. Since mine's practical in nature I usually find that doing the practical side pretty much compensates for no notes with the theory. Learn best through doing and watching/listening, words on a page have very little meaning for me regardless of the depth, so if I'm ever spotted with a pen it's usually writing down terms I'm unfamiliar with or doodling.

Reply 4

Async

We all have different ways of doing things really, I barely take any notes because I know the content well beforehand. For example I looked at my whole programming module for the whole Year1 and Year2, and I laughed at how easy it was for me. So I just chill, see with me I had a lot of passion for the subject beforehand, and because of that I really got into programming and computing in general which taught me a lot, this then makes my whole 1st year uni experience a breeze.

From my experience, I prefer actually understanding the content/concepts really really well than to taking notes. Nothing beats deep understanding. And to me the best way to understand these concepts were to be practically involved in them, so I program them. So for me to understand things like Regex, SQL, OOP, I programmed it just to get that 1st hand experience. I didn't do this just once, but very frequently because it became part of my daily routine as a freelancer programmer. I mean that's one route you can take, the computing topic is so practical that it allows you to do just that. Take theory to practical.

I know I didn't answer your question much about note taking, but it's more of my ways of learning in class.