Google Wave is dead. Too bad, I liked it. In a world where PhD students cannot afford fancy tablet PCs or dictate notes to a assistant, Google Wave offered the next best thing. Once I was done taking meeting notes I could go to the nearest computer and type them into the Wave via web browser where they were stored and could be accessed and edited by my professors (not that they ever did). For a Phd student who took lots of notes and needed them digitized and organized, Google Wave was a great tool.
Luckily, something came along that digitizes and organizes my notes in the same way, Evernote. Evernote does almost everything Google Wave does and it even looks the same; making the learning curve non-existent.
This transition from Google Wave to Evernot does allow me to pause and reflect on how my notetaking might be more efficient and or/ better. The majority of my notes are taken from meetings with my supervisors. So, the requirements for good notetaking at the PhD level for me are:
-notes are originally taken with pen/pencil on paper, for a good article on why NOT to use laptops to take notes read this
-actionable items are made clear and known to all applicable
-notes are indexed
-notes are easily searched
-notes are accessible
-notes are easily exported
-notes can be easily stored with other items (e.g., meeting agenda)
After typing or scanning in the original notes to Evernote, Evernote meets all these requirments. There are other options out there for digitalizing and storing your notes that do not require the typing in parts, but they cost money and do not always work. Examples are Livescribe and Camiapp.
Taking this reflection one step further, how can I take better original notes with pen/pencil on paper? One answer is to buy a notebook that is conductive to the types of notes you wish to take. For me, I make a series of check boxes in the margin of my notebook for items that require action. Turns out, they make a notebook with these things already in place -the Action Day Notebook. I think I will give this notebook a try and see if it helps my meeting notetaking.
RIP Google Wave
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
US or U.S.? U.S. or American?
"US" or "U.S."?
Answer: In everything but scientific writing, "U.S." is preferred.
-About.com
"U.S." or "American"?
For example, "he is from the U.S.", or "he is American"?
Answer: Either
"In modern English, "American" generally refers to the United States, and in the U.S. itself this usage is almost universal, with any other use of the term requiring specification of the subject under discussion."
-Wikipedia
Answer: In everything but scientific writing, "U.S." is preferred.
-About.com
"U.S." or "American"?
For example, "he is from the U.S.", or "he is American"?
Answer: Either
"In modern English, "American" generally refers to the United States, and in the U.S. itself this usage is almost universal, with any other use of the term requiring specification of the subject under discussion."
-Wikipedia
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Beginning a sentence with an abbreviation?
I use the word "carbon" about 150 times a page when writing proposals, so naturally I abbreviate it as "C" (after of course letting the reader know I am doing such). But what happens when I want to begin my sentence with this abbreviation? It surely does not look/sound correct.
"C being stored in lacustrine sediments is...."
I have not found a hard and fast rule on this in the blogosphere. Most posts seem to say something to the effect, "If it sounds wrong, don't write it", or "Do what makes your professor/teacher happy".
Therefore, I am making my own judgement call. NO. That is to say, Tommy, you cannot start a sentence with an abbreviation.
There, I made up my mind.
"C being stored in lacustrine sediments is...."
I have not found a hard and fast rule on this in the blogosphere. Most posts seem to say something to the effect, "If it sounds wrong, don't write it", or "Do what makes your professor/teacher happy".
Therefore, I am making my own judgement call. NO. That is to say, Tommy, you cannot start a sentence with an abbreviation.
There, I made up my mind.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Importance of a Detailed Outline
Why use a detailed outline and when should you deploy this seemingly waste of time?
A detailed outline helps you set some bounds on the direction of your writing. Keeping you on the "straight and narrow" so to speak. The proper procedure for writing a proposal usually goes something like this.
Assuming you are writing something similar to a grant proposal, in your rough outline you should have identified several topic sentences based on the questions posed in the funding call. A detailed outline simply adds paragraphs associated with the topic sentences you sketched in your rough outline. Running a detailed outline by your professor for correction/acceptance before moving towards a fully written draft will greatly keep you on course. Here is figure to help illustrate my point.
A detailed outline helps you set some bounds on the direction of your writing. Keeping you on the "straight and narrow" so to speak. The proper procedure for writing a proposal usually goes something like this.
Assuming you are writing something similar to a grant proposal, in your rough outline you should have identified several topic sentences based on the questions posed in the funding call. A detailed outline simply adds paragraphs associated with the topic sentences you sketched in your rough outline. Running a detailed outline by your professor for correction/acceptance before moving towards a fully written draft will greatly keep you on course. Here is figure to help illustrate my point.
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