Online learning nowadays becomes one of the most common method for both students and teachers. Most of us are familiar with the "notebook" concept of taking notes in lectures.

However, with the rise of online learning, there has been a growing trend for online course providers to encourage their students to take effective notes in an online learning environment.

Although some courses do provide PDFs or printed handouts as alternatives to note-taking, they do not come close to the level of effectiveness and ease of use that you can achieve by taking notes in an online environment.

This article will provide you with 5 tips for taking great and effective notes on any online course. This article is geared towards people who are starting out on their own, but some of these tips will be useful even if you have experience with other types of online learning.

What are the Preparations for Taking Notes on Online Learning?

Get good writing equipment on online learning

If you’re an online learner, you must use a good writing equipment to take notes in class. A good writing equipment can help you do more than just take notes. Pen and plenty of paper are the most basic equipment for taking notes.

Although some people like to make handwritten notes, most people prefer using a laptop or tablet for their digital notes.

It is best to get a good laptop or tablet that has the right software on it so that you can take your digital notes online.

The software should be easy to use and not require too much effort on your part. If the software has multiple features, such as web pages and live-chat features, it will be even better to create digital notes. 

Organize your work into folders during online learning

It is important to break up each class section into smaller chunks of information so that you can stay focused and write down all the information in one session.

By organizing your work into folders, you will be able to easily organize your information into different categories without having to worry about duplicating any of your work.

This way, if there are any errors in your notes (such as misspellings or incorrect information), you will know which folder they are in and can simply go back and edit them. You can separate your lecture notes and your class notes to make it easier. 

Take a screenshot of your notes

If you have a large amount of information to take down, it is best to take a screenshot of the whole page. This way, you will be able to look back at what you have written and easily edit it.

Taking a screenshot will also allow you to review your work later on in case you forget something that was important.

It can be very annoying when you have a few notes about a certain topic or event that you would like to remember later on, but you can’t because they are too cluttered with words or pictures from other sources that do not relate directly to what you were writing about.

Tips for taking great and effective notes

Here are the tips or you to take a notes during your online learning.

Set up your system before the class starts

A lot of students will find it easier to take notes if they have everything set up beforehand. The more prepared you are before the online class starts, the more effective your notes will be during class time and at home after class is over.

Do not worry about spelling or grammar mistakes

Although some teachers may look down on spelling mistakes in their writing, there is no reason to worry about them in online course notes. In fact, a lot of online courses have a live-chat feature which you can use to ask the teacher questions.

This means that there is no need to worry about whether your notes are grammatically correct or not. It is best to keep in mind that the purpose of writing down your notes is for future reference, so any errors will be easily overlooked in the long run.

Break up your class into smaller chunks

Break up your class into smaller chunks so that you can fit more stuff into your schedule. There are two reasons why this tip is important. First, it makes it easier for you to stay focused and take notes during class time.

Second, if you have a large amount of information to take down, you may find it difficult to write it all down at once.

The point is to make each lesson or topic more manageable and better understood by yourself. Take notes from that class and put them in your bookmarks. It will make your life easier when you get back into school and want to keep up with all your notes from each class!

Take regular breaks between classes

This tip might seem obvious, but most students do not do this! Taking regular breaks will allow you to go back over what you have written and refresh your memory before continuing with the next class section.

Most online classes will give you an opportunity to review what you have written at any time during the course (if not during class time). Take advantage of this!

Make sure that when you do take breaks, you do something else that is productive! Some people like to play games on their computer while they are taking a break from studying.

However, it’s important to make sure that the game is not too intense or distracting so that your brain can focus on other things during those short periods of rest.

If you need help, ask the teacher

Although most teachers will try to answer any questions that you have during class time, they may not always be able to. Therefore, it is best to use the live-chat feature of the course if you are unsure about something.

This will allow you to get answers from the teacher in real time without having to wait for a response in a message box. After that, you can put your questions and answers given by your teacher on the notes.