Digital reading �and notetaking
Digital reading
Tip 1: Get comfy
Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.
Whether you’re nestling up with a good book or a bad journal article, you may be there for some time…
Tip 2: Go full screen
Or resize to take up as much of the screen as is comfortable…
You could even flip your screen!
Short lines of text are easier to read than long ones.
Digital texts at York
Kortext
Kortext is a digital textbook platform
Link in reading list but need to create an account
Tip 3: Play with your display settings
Experimenting with display settings can make reading (and working) online for long periods more comfortable. You may need to adjust settings differently on different devices or at different times of day.
Tip 4: Get the computer to read to you
“Once upon a time there was a little computer who could talk, and it would read things out to you so that you didn’t have to stare at a screen all day, which was very nice of it, all things considered. It even had different voices and accents you could choose from.”
Features on epublisher platforms
Web pages
You’ve got a lot of control over how web content displays, not least by changing the size of the window.
You can tweak default fonts etc. in browser settings…
And if you want to be really extreme…
Press F12 and tweak the webpage body with filter and other CSS styles…
PDF tools
PDFs are print-format documents, which makes them static and difficult to manipulate for screen reading.
But most things can be hacked…
Adobe Reader has some basic accessibility options including colour tweaking and Read Out Loud.
And then there’s OrbitNote:
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Multi-Functional Devices (MFDs) on campus have an OCR option when scanning which will attempt to digitise any text it can identify on the page in a machine-readable format.
Tools like Google Lens also let you extract text.
Screen masking etc
OrbitNote, Read&Write
Texthelp read&write
Tip 5: Don’t forget to take a break!
Don’t be staring at a screen all day. It’s bad for your eyes…
Note-taking.
How do you currently take notes?
What do you use them for?
Some examples
Tip 6: Make notes!
Why is note-taking important?
Good note-taking helps you to understand what you are learning by…
Active or passive?
Note-taking isn’t about copying down what you hear, see, or read.
You need to engage with the material to help you remember it and to form connections that will be used in later work.
See our note-taking Skills Guide for more on how to take good, active notes…
Future training to note…
Note-making for reading: what it is and how to do it
Wed 21st February, 10:30, online
Let’s get critical IV: Active critical reading
Thu 14th March, 10:00, online
Tip 7: Keep an archive
Manage what you read,
keep copies,
give files sensible names,
etc…
Organising and reviewing notes
Organise your notes using headings, lists, colours, highlighting etc.
Have a system for organising your notes - folders, learning journal, good titles/labels for notes
Review your notes, adding additional information or linking to other notes/work
What options are there?
Note-taking apps
�
Other tools
…or pen and paper!
Online study and note taking
Studying online may change how you take notes:
Applications
Live notes
Handwriting
Often the easiest way of keeping up with a speaker and freely interpreting what they say…
Microsoft OneNote
Google Keep
Simplenote
Text processors
Adding symbols
Numpad alt codes:
→ Alt+26
↔ Alt+29
± Alt+241
° Alt+248
Symbols:
Word, OneNote, & Google Docs:
Insert > Symbols
Google Docs even lets you draw a symbol to search for it.
AutoCorrect
Set up custom abbreviations or shortcuts that will automatically be rewritten:
Word: File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options or Insert > Symbols > Symbol > More Symbols > Shortcut Key
Google Docs: Tools > Preferences > Substitutions
Annotation
PowerPoint & Google Slides
PDFs
Annotate your PDFs with comments, highlighting, drawings, handwriting etc.
Other formats
Webpages
Microsoft Edge lets you Screenshot a full page which you
can then draw on, or save for use in a different tool.
Audio & Video
While it’s not what it’s designed for, NVivo can be used to make notes on text, images, audio, and video. Though that might be a bit extreme for most needs!
Recording and dictation
Loads of audio tools, not least Audacity - always get permission if recording somebody else.
Can also record audio in OneNote, Keep, etc.
Dictation
Word: Home > Voice > Dictate
Google Docs: Tools > Voice typing
Can also transcribe in OneNote, Keep, etc.
Think about how you organise your notes
Store your notes in the cloud:
Keep organised! Give your files good names and store them with the things they relate to. Add links where useful!
And finally…
Check out the Skills Guides for more advice: